Roma!

Ciao! Well Rome was (surprise, surprise) AMAZING! We woke up at the crack of dawn and met at our usual meeting place to get on the bus. I pretty must slept the whole ride there. When we arrived we checked into our hotel. The rooms were so funny! They had 3 twin beds in them! And they were all completely different. Anyway, they were pretty decent. After we checked in we grabbed a quick lunch and met up for our trip to the Vatican. It was soo hot and waiting in line with crowds of people was painful but we finally got in. We walked through the meseum part pretty quickly but there were so many people it took a while. When we finally got there it was of course incredible. The day before our teacher (Nero) had given us a lecture all about the artwork we would see and he gave us two detailed handouts about the Sistine Chapel. It was so neat looking up and being able to spot everything and point it out and actually know what it meant! Anyway, it was so quiet but then of course they had the guards yelling "SILENCIO. NO PHOTOS," over and over. I got an amazing picture but then got kicked out for taking pictures.. whoops! Then we split up and everyone went to check out St Peter's Basilica. It was so beautiful and once again we had the handout with the descriptions. We headed into one of the side chapels and just when we went in a monk came out and started singing, it was incredible! We left the Vatican and went back to the hotel to take showers and whatnot. I took a nap :)Then we had a huge group dinner! It started with homeade pasta with a simple red sauce that was so good. Then we had saltimbucco and they served a whole bunch of fried veggies.. zucchini, artichokes, zucchini flowers, and even rice balls! It was so yummy and very fun. Then as a group most of us went to Trevi fountain and made our wishes. We just walked around a little bit and then went home. In the morning we went downstairs for breakfast and then walked to the Roman Forum. We got the most incredible tour from Nero who told us the meaning of every little ruin. We saw the place where Caesar was cremated, it was so awesome. Then we walked around more, and saw some sites. We went to the Pantheon last and then broke for individual lunch. We went to this salad place and Carlyn got a bug in her salad, so they offered to give her something else and then charged her for it! Haha, damn cheap Italians! Anyway, after lunch we took a bus to the Catacombs. It was so eerie. It was so cold underground and they had all the little baby graves eek! You could even see your breath! But, we got to see the coolest thing. There is one grave which they think belonged to a martyr but theyre not sure. Anyway, there are frescoes next to it and above it and they are ORGINAL and haven't been restored and you can still make out a lot of the details. It was amazing. Anyway, we went home after that. The drive was hellish as everyone insisted on SINGING for most of the journey. We went out last night to Naima because it is their last night before they close! We are all very sad. But, we had fun for the most part. This morning most of us woke up and went to American brunch! I got eggs and "bacon," (really pancetta) and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice! Then we did a little shopping because everything is on SALDI right now! It's so wonderful. Now I'm in the study center. I uploaded some pics and I'm still trying but it's really difficult. When everyone is on the internet at once in the study center it goes really slow and my uploads usually fail. But, I'm still trying! I'm going to try and call today but I don't have minutes right now so it depends on whether or not the stores are open. Anyway, if I don't speak to you fam, happy family day.Love and miss everyone!