All Roads Lead to Rome!

I have finally arrived in Rome! It is by far the most amazing place I have ever seen... with Roman ruins everywhere, beautiful people, delicious food, and warm California-like weather. I caught a 9 AM flight from the Berlin Tiegel Airport to Rome's Fiumincino/Da Vinci Airport. I flew over the Alps on my way over... what an awesome sight! When I arrived I grabbed my bag and was greeted at the exit by a CEA representative who gave me my keys etc, and had a driver drop me and a couple of other students off at our apartments. The rural hillsides between the airport and city are reminiscent of the golden hills of California's tri-valley. When we reached the outer city it looked a bit like Mexico with colorful buildings and a Spanish-like atmosphere, until finally I saw my first glimpse of Roman ruins as we drove by the Palatine Hill, right after which I saw the Colosseum! I couldn't take my eyes off of it... and this was the moment when it finally hit me that I was actually in Rome. The apartment of one of the students in the car happened to be located right next to the Colosseum (you can literally see it right outside her front door), which I thought was awesome. It turns out that my apartment is located in the heart of downtown next to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, so I am very happy with it. My roommates are Pat and Ryan. Our apartment is on the top/third floor (called the second floor in Europe because the bottom floor is called the 0 or ground floor) with an awesome view outside almost all of the windows. Like all the rest of Rome, my apartment has a lot of character to it with a rustic wooden beam ceiling and painted orange plaster walls... and of course this is Italy so I only have tile flooring. To celebrate our first night my roommates and I met up with some girls in our same program at a bar at the Spanish Steps, and bar hopped the rest of the night with them. We ended up seeing the Pantheon and I saw the Trevi Fountain when I was walking home. I had a couple days of orientation at my campus (which is a beautiful villa) and got to know my fellow students. We went on a walking and bus tour, so I have already seen much of the outsides of Rome's sights (these tours are probably the most fun I've had so far in all of Europe). I've been going out at night with people in my program, and even went on the Colosseum Pub Crawl, which was a lot of fun. Yesterday I went to a local beach in the Ostia region with people in the program. Today was my first day of classes. We have many activities planned in my classes so I am sure that I will be learning a lot. One thing I've learned already just by being in Rome: it is considered rude to pay a vendor by placing cash in their hand, so instead you each place money on a small tray between yourselves.

There are pizza and gelato places eveywhere. I have eaten a ridiculous amount of pizza so far but the food is amazingly good here. It must be the ingredients because I've made some of my own spaghetti and pasta which I bought at the store and it is practically the best pasta that I have ever tasted. There is so much to see and experience in Italy and especially Rome that I can not possibly have time to see it all so I am taking each day at a time and enjoying life slowly Italian-style. The people here are amazingly good-looking, partly because they know how and take the time to dress well. I walk around the city each day and am becoming more acquainted with it. I take the metro and sometimes the bus wherever I go, and every corner I turn while walking around I see more beauty... it will be hard for me to get tired of this place. So far I've found some really nice-looking places like barber shops and bars in hidden alleyways. I will post pictures up soon to show you some of these amazing places. For now I look forward to my first week of classes and am exploring Rome whenever I am free. I am extremely happy with my choice to study abroad in Rome... it has not only met but exceeded my expectations!

Pyramid of Cestius (My first glimpse of a Roman Ruin, driving from the airport)

My first glimpse of the Colosseo/Flavian Amphitheatre

My first meal in Rome!

My first gelato (Black cherry... it's still my favorite flavour)!

Galleria Alberto Sordi (One of the nicest shopping malls in Rome, located down the street from my apartment)

Piazza Navona

Roman barber shop

The street intersection located outside my house... right in the heart of downtown Roma. Beautiful roof gardens like this are ubiquitous in Roma!

A restaurant located just to the right of the same building in the above picture.

Spaghetti in the same restaurant (with small bits of pork).

View from outside my bathroom window... che bella!

Arch of Constantine ( the emperor who popularized Christianity throughout Europe). Triumphal arches like this were built for the celebration of "triumphs," celebrated after military victories. The middle arch was reserved for the emperor, but ordinary citizens could walk through the side arches.

Il Colosseo (formerly called the Flavian Amphitheatre after the imperial dynasty that built it).

Via Sacra (Sacred Road). It extends from the Colosseum to the end of the Roman Forum. After winning a battle, the emperor would celebrate with a "triumph," in which he would march down the Via Sacra in a chariot followed by his army. It was lined with triumphal arches, yet only a few survive today.

View of the Roman Forum from a lower part of the Palatine Hill.

Imperial palaces of the Palatine hill with the terrain of the Circus Maximus in the foreground (The Circus Maximus was Rome's largest circus, where chariot races were held).

Arch of Janus (Arco di Giano)


Temple of Hercules Victor

Ponte Rotte (Broken Bridge) on the left with Tiber Island on the right, located on the Tiber River. Ponte Rotte is the oldest stone bridge in Rome. Only this small portion remains.

Theatre of Marcellus

Foro Romano (Roman Forum) with the Palatine Hill in the foreground. The Palatine Hill was where Rome was founded, and the Roman Forum was the religious, political, and economic center of the city. The left half of the picture shows the remains of the Basilica Julia, built by and dedicated to Julius Caesar. It was mainly used as a law court, but also had shops in it. Basilicas were used as meeting places for the Romans, and it would give them shelter during bad weather.

Roman Forum. The Via Sacra runs along the left side, ending next to the Temple of Saturn in the foreground (which was the treasure house of the Roman Empire). The Colosseum is seen in the distance.