Arrivederci Florence, Buon giorno Roma!

Well of course, we are back home now and I am sending out this final blog from a comfy chair in the States because we did not have internet connection in Rome. Believe it or not, our Roman adventures were even more of a whirlwind than those in Florence. Once we arrived in Rome and checked into the hotel (with the oh-so-tiny rooms), we headed out to see the sights. We started off on the metro (Dr. Ray's favorite ;0) and ended up traveling by foot and by bus as well. Our first stop found us gawking in amazement at the Colosseum and The Arch of Constantine. The Latin girls were so excited and soon busied themselves taking as many pictures as they could to show to Dr. McFadden.

After that, we walked and walked and walked, all the while looking wide-eyed at the various monuments, fountains, and ancient ruins around the city. We had a great view of the Forum, from above, as the sun began to set and our guide John brought the ancient ruins to life with his descriptions of the grandeur of these structures erected in ancient times.

As we walked the streets of Rome, we really began to get a sense of the history and life of the city. Everywhere we looked, we saw examples of the contrast that we have been discussing in this course - the past juxtaposed with the present, the ancient vs the modern, the pagaen vs Christian, etc.

One of the most fun things about the city, not to mention refreshing, in the super humid, hot, and steamy streets of Rome, was the ever-present abundance of water. There are fountains, grand and small, all over the city. The smaller fountains, on the sides of walls, hanging off of the edges of buildings, etc. became mini-oases, little spots where the weary traveler, the parched tourist, and Roman businessman alike could stop and cleanse their hands, splash some cool water on their face or drink to quench their thirst. How economical - you just buy one water bottle and then carry it around and fill it up at the various drinking fountains around the town!

Here, Megan has mastered the art of turning this fountain into a drinking fountain. A few of us were not so skilled and ended up covered in water.
Speaking of fountains, there really was an endless supply of favorites but I think we all agreed that the Trevi Fountain was the most fabulous of all. John would typically lead us through the narrow Roman streets ( I would call them alleys but the Romans seemed to think they were big enough to accommodate an endless stream of pedestrian, motorcycles, cars, and even delivery trucks!) often not explaining exactly where we were going. Then, all of a sudden, we would turn a corner and voilà, there would be an opening suddenly filled with a huge building, monument, or fountain (or all three). One night we turned the corner and we happened upon the Trevi Fountain, which is unbelievably huge and beautiful and very crowded, and we were all instantly awe-struck and charmed. We all immediately knew that this must be the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we had to dig out our coins and join the crowd in performing the ritual of tossing a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder while your back is turned to the fountain. Why? Well, as John explained, you must do this to insure that you will return to Rome. He went on to tell us that he always does this every time he comes to Rome and well, here he is again in Rome! That convinced every girl to dig through their change purses to sacrifice some shopping coins to insure future visits.