Roma, Italia. Part 1.

We awakened at 4:30am to dress, finish packing and catch our taxi to the airport so that we could be on our way to sweet Roma. Ahhh, Italia. I was so excited to meet our group and start our guided tours. My huge pink suitcases barely fit in the car and the taxi driver gave me a hard time about being American and packing too much stuff. There wasn't any traffic so we arrived at Heathrow rather quickly. We zoomed through baggage check and security and took a seat. The airport was freezing cold and we soon learned that we'd have to wait over 2 hours before learning what our gate number was. Not so sure what that's about. I browsed the bookstore and Daniel and I shared a hot chocolate and croissant. We boarded and were elated to discover that we were near the front which meant that there was a seat between us! Lots of space meant taking a quick nap. London was awesome, but so exhausting. We slept great on the plane, grabbed our luggage, and called Cecilia - our group leader. Our little group from Texas had arrived sooner than Daniel and me and they were already on their way to the hotel. We had to sit outside a bar in the airport and wait for Paolo, our Italian tour guide. We sat for two hours before we finally met him, and I have to admit that I was a little concerned that we'd been forgotten. Paolo set off to meet the Seattle group and we waited for another hour. FINALLY, we were ready for our big charter bus. Paolo took us to our hotel where we met up with the Texas, Iowa and Virginia groups. Once our luggage was put away, we all boarded the bus and headed into the city for a little walk. I absolutely fell in love with Italy. Really. It's my new favorite place.


One of the entrances of the Domitian stadium,which is beneath the palaces encircling the square.

Our first experience in Italy was in the Piazza Navona, what used to be the Stadium of Domitian. Romans used to gather here to watch the games. The "square" is actually in the shape in an oval since chariots raced there. The Piazza was featured in Angels and Demons so some of this may look familiar to you.

Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini supports an Egyptian Obelisk. I call this the Angels and Demons fountain. This fountain represents rivers from the four continents known at the time: the rivers are the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Rio de la Pata in America. You'll see this fountain again as we return to the Piazza a day or so later.

Fontain of Neptune

I love this square...the first gelato I had was here!

Sant' Agnese in Agone.

There are tons of what I refer to as "street people" here. Some of the vendors are super cool. This guy was doing a remarkable job!

...and then there was this poor, little old man. He was sort of lip synching to opera, and wasn't very good at all. We did laugh a lot though!

The Polizia.
We were granted free time to enjoy the piazza, so the Texans decided to take a little walk.

We headed for this...the St. Angel Bridge, constructed in 136 AD to connect the city of Rome to today's Castel Sant'Angelo. The internet says it is the most beautiful and the most perfect of Rome's bridges, never having been damaged by the river in flood. Up to the Middle Ages, it was the bridge most used by pilgrims going to St. Peter's Basilica.

The angel with the sponge and vinegar.
This bridge leads to the Castel Sant'Angelo. The building was originally a tomb built for the Roman Emporer Hadrian. Pope Paul III commissioned the building to be built upon as a noble residence. St. Michael the archangel sits atop the castle because St. Gregory invisioned the angel atop the castle, sheathing his sword to signify the end of the plague in 590.

In the 14th century the building became a fortress used by the papacy as a refuge in the event of danger. Pope Nicholas III connected the Castel Sant' Angelo to the St. Peter's Basilica via the Passetto di Borgo.

Part of the original moat around the Castel Sant' Angelo.

The Passetto di Borgo, a raised corridor that links Vatican City to the castle. Pope Alexander VI and Clement VII used this escape route hundreds of years ago!

A view of Rome, the Tibre River, and the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II.



Statues on the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II.

My lovely Rome.
From in front of the Castel Sant' Angelo, we could see St. Peter's Basilica and the giant dome!

There it is...St. Peter's Basilica!

Daniel's fascination for churches and cathedrals begins!

My fellow teachers, Cecilia on the left and Lauren on the right.

Okay, so we were beyond thrilled to be in Rome. I hadn't known it before, but I'd waited all my life to see this.
On the way back to the Piazza Navona, we walked through alleys and guessed our way around the city. This is the BEST way to find beautiful sights.


I have a new love for shutters! They are EVERYWHERE and make the buildings look super cool.


Piazza dell'Orologio: the Oratory and Convent of St. Philip Neri




Postcard perfect, for me. This is how I will remember the little streets of Rome.
I could have walked around all afternoon, but it was soon time to meet up with the group, get checked into our rooms and have dinner.

This was the last thing we saw today. I can't remember what Paolo told us, but I know that this building is super old!