On Tuesday morning, at the extremely late hour of 5:00 AM, three of Nomentana 251's fine residents were saying 'good morning!' to the world. Or perhaps we were grumbling at our alarm clocks for deciding to make five hours of sleep breeze by so quickly... I'm not sure... Regardless, by 5:15, Megan, Mary, and I were preparing for the balmy fifty-two degree morning temperature in Rome. By 5:45, wrapped in long sleeves and scarves, we left our apartment to meet up with Erin, Dan, and Michael to catch Bus 62 at 6:00 AM. When 6:30 rolled around, we were six of maybe ten people at the grand Trevi Fountain, which was lit up to perfection. Absolutely stunning.
Mary, Dan, Erin, Me, Michael, and Megan in front of the Trevi Fountain at 6:30 AM.
I'll be coming back to Roma!
The beautiful, beautiful Trevi Fountain.
Via del Corso waking up.
After taking a million and two photos, and tossing what may have been my fifth euro into the fountain (I have most certainly secured a return trip to Roma!), we departed for one of my favorite sites in Rome, the Colosseum. While I've been to the ancient amphitheater in daylight and moon light, I had yet to see it at sunrise, so the trek across Piazza Venezia was definitely one filled with excitement (and maybe some skipping). At 7:17, the sun made it's grand entrance over the horizon, giving the Colosseum a beautiful glow, and we snapped a few more pictures. When we were satisfied with the mass quantity of files hogging space on our memory cards, we caught a bus to Piazza Venezia, then another to Saint Peter's Basilica.
"The Wedding Cake" (Monumento Vittorio Emanuele II) just before sunrise.
The Trajan Forum just before sunrise.
Looking down Via dei Fori Imperiali toward the Colosseum just before sunrise.
Dan and Michael in front of the Colosseum after sunrise.
Erin, Meg, Mary, and me in front of the Colosseum right after the sunrise.
Il Colosseo. Bam.
Our goal was to make it to the Vatican Museum before it opened so we could see the Sistine Chapel without crowds. However, after arriving at the museum, I realized that I mixed up the opening time, so we ended up rescheduling and getting a nice espresso and doughnut instead. At 10:00 AM, we met Paolo, our fabulous Art History professor, under the obelisk in Saint Peter's Square for our final Art History class in Rome.
Michael and I were excited to have class in Saint Peter's Square!
A fountain in Saint Peter's Square.
Our group in front of the Vatican with Paolo, our Art History prof.
When it finished, we stopped by a mindbogglingly delicious crepe restaurant, located next to Old Bridge Gelato, for anyone who wants to make a trip there. Erin and I split a "sweet" crepe (banana and Nutella) and a "savory" crepe (ham, mozzarella, mushroom, and tomato), and nearly died of happiness. Later in the day, we continued our food craze, and went to an semi-impromptu cooking class with Michela, the sweetheart receptionist from CEA. She taught us how to make tiramisu and homemade fettucini noodles. Both were delicious! While we were there, Erin received some exciting news. After much anticipation, her brand new cousin was born--welcome to the world, baby Olivia!
Now, I'm off to plan my fall break to Croatia and the Greek Islands with Missy, Erin, and Megan. Love life, and love Italy!
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