All I seem to tell you about is Italy lately but I must say that I am addicted. After ten days in late October and early November over the school break I returned to Brussels rejuvenated and ready for the six remaining weeks of school before Christmas break. I also started flight shopping for tickets back to Italy practically as soon as I stepped off of the plane. Over October break one of my fellow interns, Carrie, had to return to the states because of a family emergency and was unable to travel around Europe. It did not take much work to convince her to accompany me to Italy and particularly Rome for a weekend. I realize that it sounds completely over the top extravagant to go to Rome for a weekend but it really is not that far and is completely worth it. Check out the photos and tell me you do not want to go to Rome for the weekend.

My fellow interns and I live and work not too far from the airport and thought the Brussels public transportation system is extensive it can be a little unreliable as far as time tables go. We decided to take a taxi directly from school because our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:30 and we did not want to get stuck on a tram somewhere panicking about being late. Of course the taxi got us there promptly only to discover that our flight was delayed by at least an hour and a half, how typical. Eventually we did make it to Rome and nothing could dampen our spirits. I did feel a bit guilty because I had arranged to meet up with my friend Karen and she was waiting ever so patiently for us at the hostel. I met Karen while studying abroad in Argentina; she is currently a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia and arranged some time off to see a little of Italy. We got in pretty late but lucked into a free Sicilian dinner once we got all linked up. I loved the food so much that Sicily is high on my list of next Italian destinations.

Carrie kept Karen and me in line; she had us out of bed and on the tourist trail at an early hour. Despite the grumbling we were glad to be out and about seeing Rome. Our first stop was the Coliseum and what a place to start; the sheer size, former opulence, and history of the place is just beyond comprehension. We wandered around, took pictures and tried to figure out where they kept the gladiators, wild animals, and how people could watch as someone battled a lion only to end up as dinner and all for the purpose of entertainment. From the Coliseum we proceeded to the near by archeological dig that includes the remains of the Forum, where Julius Cesar met his end. As we walked through the archeological park it is surprising to me that any of these magnificent structures could ever have been under ground. How could anything so beautiful or important get covered by dirt and even have things built on top of it? I am glad someone discovered all of these things and made a point to preserve them.

Rome is not a large city and is relatively easy to navigate, every time we started to doubt our sense of direction we rounded the corner and stumbled upon some piece of history or thing of beauty. The subway system is not immense because every time plans are approved to start a new line and construction begins some new archeological treasure is discovered and construction stops. The three of us trekked across town and had a great time. Though the weather was not warm by any means it was noticeably warmer than Brussels which Carrie and I relished. Karen was a bit chilly compared to what she is used to in Ethiopia but all in all we had a pretty good time. We had random Google maps and points of interest that we were interested in seeing but we just wandered around mostly and happened to end up in the right places. From the Forum we walked through Piazza Venezia and the monument to Victor Emmanuel, Italy's first king and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We strolled through the shopping district and arrived at Trevi Fountain which is amazingly beautiful even through the drizzle. Gelato makes everything better so we camped out in a near by gelateria and dried out before heading back outside and on to more sight seeing. We all threw some money in the fountain so as legend has it we are sure to return to Rome in the future, I cannot wait. From the Trevi fountain we made our way to the Spanish Steps, covered in tourists but that in no way diminished the beauty or grandeur. We found the Pantheon which totally confused me because I did not realize that the Pantheon in Rome and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece are not the same thing. To further confuse me the Church of Mary and all the Martyr Saints occupies the Pantheon and has since the 7th century.

Carrie and I have gotten to know a terrific Italian family at school and when I told them we were headed to Rome the Mom planned restaurants, printed maps, and circled all kinds of things we needed to see. I told her that the priorities were eating and shopping and she kept this in mind along with sights we could not miss. We missed our dinner spot the first night because the taxi we called just never came. Saturday I was in charge of dining and we made it to the recommended restaurant but not before meeting up with one of Carries sorority sisters and appetizers and drinks at a neat little wine bar.

Sunday was devoted to the Vatican and I completely underestimated what this would mean. I thought we would be able to walk right into Vatican City, get in line for the Vatican Museum, check out the artifacts it has collected over the millennia, go see the Sistine Chapel, wander over to St. Peters Basilica to see the Pope give his address at noon, and then eat some lunch. If you have ever been to the Vatican on a Sunday do not think you will be able to just stroll in because it is not going to happen. When we got to the Vatican the line to get into the museum was already 1 ½ hours long. We decided to join a tour group in order to cut the line and stayed with them long enough to hear about the politics, artistic selection, and details of the Sistine Chapel. We ditched the tour group and tried to hustle our way through the museum. The Sistine Chapel is inside of the Vatican Museum and is not a church as I was thinking in the conventional sense but an insanely beautiful room devoted to worship. People are so focused on getting to the chapel that many people including our little trio passed many of the works of art without even a second glance. I did get out of the throng to admire several Picasso and Dali works. At one point we looked at each other and realized we would not make it to see the Pope which was disappointing but we got to really spend time admiring and looking for the little “secrets” Michelangelo painted into his masterpiece. The quantity of people and their unwillingness to stop talking or taking pictures was disheartening but even those little details cannot overshadow the greatness of Michelangelo’s work.

From the Vatican Museum we trekked along the outside if Vatican City and visited St. Peters Basilica. Sadly we missed the Papal address by his Excellency Pope Benedict XVI but maybe next time. We were in Rome for the first Sunday of Advent and the Basilica was decorated in true Advent style. There are more confessional booths in the Basilica and around Rome than I have ever seen and it is possible to confess in languages and dialects from around the globe. There were priests fluttering around in silken finery and monks in humble woolen robes. The most touching part of the trip was seeing his Excellency Pope John Paul II tomb, adorned with gifts and surrounded by people praying in front of his crypt.

Sunday evening we said goodbye to Karen and headed back to the airport. Carrie was looking at her tickets because I thought our plane left at 8:40 and she thought it left at 8:55. It turned out that she bought a ticket for the AM flight and I had a ticket for the PM flight but we got it all worked out and of course our plane was delayed by a couple of hours but we made it to school on Monday and had a super time in the great city of Rome.