Roma!

This past weekend I went to Rome to meet up with my parents!
I arrived late Thursday night to the beautiful apartment my parents rented for the weekend. It was in a very cute neighborhood right next to the Colosseum.
my own room!
Friday we ventured off to Vatican City in the morning. We then had a guided tour of the Vatican museum and Sisteen Chaple. It was soooo crowded, but really awesome to see a lot of pieces I studied in AP Art History in high school!



Hercules!
"School of Athens"

It's illegal to take pictures inside the Sisteen Chaple because it's a "holy place." So naturally I had to take a few photos:


After the Vatican we had a great Italian lunch and then ventured off to the Colosseum.
On the way there we walked through Circus Maximus where they used to hold chariot races back in the day...

Outside the ColosseumInside the Colosseum

The next day we went to a suburb I guess you could say, of Rome, called Frascati. My friend Sara lived there for a year in high school on an exchange so we went to check it out!

In front of the Villa in Frascati... we hiked up this hill trying to get into the villa, but little did we know it is not open to the public.
lunch in Frascati
The best gelato in Frascati
The fam looking out over Rome... my dad was not impressed with the view and said "it just looks like I'm looking out on Los Angeles." lame! I was impressed...

The next day we went to The Borgehse Museum...
They were having a special exhibit on Carravagio- a Baroque painter who uses the chiaroscuro technique by using really dark shadows. I'm a big fan.
Also there was a ton of Bernini's sculptures. It's incredible what he can make out of a block of marble. One of the pieces he did when he was 20 years old and it is one of the most amazing sculptures I've ever seeen.

After that we walked past the Spanish steps- not too impressed- and then to the Trevi fountain!
making a wish at the Trevi! It was gorgeous!

After that we had a delicious Italian lunch, and then off to the Pantheon and St. Peter's.
Pantheon. It rained that day, and the floor was wet. I always wondered what happened when it rained. Now I know.

Looking out from the steps of St. Peter's. All set up for when the Pope comes out and bazillions of people come to watch.

After that we had some MORE gelato and then my mom and I went to this church near our apt that my friend had told me about... It's 3 levels, two of which are underground. Apparently after they built it, it sunk, so they built another level on top of it, and then another level on top of that! Pretty neat because the bottom level is a Pagan church.

sunrise leaving Rome.

The next morning I got in a car at 5 am, landed in Prague by 9:45 and made it to class before 10:30- I'm getting really good at the Prague airport to Monday morning class routine...

Next week is fall break! So tomorrow we're off to Madrid, then Barcelona, Amsterdam, and finally Copenhagan! So exciting!!!