Cuando Era Roma

Rome so far has been lovely. Radically different from London, but lovely nonetheless. At first, I was really surprised by how dirty everything here seems, but after spending a few days exploring, its grown on me a lot!

We’ve seen a bunch of the historical sites (yay ruins!) and so far – in classic Lizzie McGuire form, the Trevi Fountain has been my favorite, although some of the churches have been amazing as well. Morning runs along the Tiber before the rest of the city wakes up are also highly recommended. I get mistaken for a local the most when I run. Apparently, its an assumption if you work out, you are local :)

Highlights of the week:

Vespers at the Vatican. For those of you unfamiliar with Westmont traditions, Vespers is a student-led service that happens on campus every Sunday night on campus. It’s also been a tradition of Europe Semester to bring the worship/fellowship time abroad. Our leaders are Scott, James, and Emily, and so far – they’ve been doing an awesome job. This week’s was INCREDIBLE because we did it on the steps of the Vatican, outside St. Peter’s Basilica. James pointed out that we were singing one of the lyrics "you stay the same through the ages, your love never changes" on the ground where St. Peter was martyred... how unbelievably cool is that?! We also had random tourists join us as we sang, sitting on the steps, and a few from Flordia even joined in!

Food. The gelato has been lovely. And happening twice daily. There are a whole bunch of random stands that have food, but not real Italian food. For the best, we’ve learned to venture a ways away from anything touristy. My favorite meal so far – I was wandering by myself looking at a menu of a restaurant, and to convince me, the owner brought me back to the kitchen and introduced me to all of his family members working there. So naturally, I ate lasagna and had a glass of wine with them!

The Colossuem is just awesome. Especially for someone who grew up with a sports family like mine. Also interesting – the Colossuem is known as a place of persecutions of Christians, but now in the middle, there is a big cross. It could easily blend because it’s the same color as all of the rocks, but when I saw it, I got goosebumps. Love wins.

The Pantheon 

Street leading up to St. Peter's Basilica/Vatican city

Making a wish!

Piazzo de Popolo

Fabulous gelato!

Over the Tiber Rive

Vespers at the Vatican

Tajan's Market Ruins

Best Lunch Ever (note: story above!)

"First Christian Church" St. John Lateran 

Scott and me

Hannah and me

Me, Jess, Hayley, Emily

Inside!

Back to the Trevi :)

... classy Kelsey

Playing in the Borghese Gardens

Spanish steps

In other news – I’m definitely feeling the I miss America/my family/my friends pain. (Just to prove this – I’m sitting in a McDonalds… I can’t remember the last time I came here in the states, but it feels strangely comfortable!) We hit the halfway mark a few days ago, and while I really have enjoyed my time here, and look forward to the next two months, that sinking feeling that I have to repeat that same amount of time and travel is overwhelming. Mommy and daddy – you could still come visit!