For midterm break me and my friends Fana, Melanie, and Molly from my program in London went to Italy, starting in Rome and staying there for four days before going to Florence for the rest of the week. I've been to Rome twice before, but this time I enjoyed it much more than I had previously -- I think probably because I went there at the beginning of my trip instead of at the end, unlike the other times I've visited. I also got a chance to see some new sights and live in a pretty residential area near the Vatican for a few days, which was very cool.
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| The view from our hotel in Rome, about two blocks from Vatican City |
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| The entrance to Hotel Florida |
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| Walking to the Vatican |
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| Basilica San Pietro |
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| First meal in Italy! |
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| The Swiss Guard |
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| St. Peter's |
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| Inside the Basilica |
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| Me and my friend Melanie posing with the Swiss Guard |
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| Melanie, Molly, and Fana, on our way into the city center! |
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| Il Colosseo |
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| The Piazza directly outside the Colosseum |
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| Molly, me, Melanie, and Fana |
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| Il Foro Romano |
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| The Palatine |
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| Panini con arugula e prosciutto! Bought from a street cart in Rome and absolutely delicious. |
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| At the Pantheon! |
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| First espresso in Italia |
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| Walking to the Trevi Fountain, we stumbled upon this church - the Chiesa di Santo Ignazio di Loyola. Since we go to a Jesuit school, we thought it would be a good idea to pop in and pay our respects to the guy who started it all. It was very beautiful and was home to the remains of Gonzaga and Bellarmine, two other Jesuits that have a ton of schools named after them |
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| La Fontana di Trevi |
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| Fana and Molly snapping some photos |
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| Channeling our inner Little Mermaid.. |
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| View of Roma from la Piazza di Spagna, or the Spanish Steps |
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| (The dome in the shot is St. Peter's Basilica) |
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| The Trevi Fountain at night |
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| For our last day, we ventured out to find the Mouth of Truth and ended up finding Circo Massimo, some more Roman ruins that were used as a chariot racing stadium back in the day |
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| La Bocca di Verita! |
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| Horse Whispering at the Vatican |
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| Ceilings at the Vatican Museum - they look like carvings, but all of these are actually just painted on! |
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| Old map of the Adriatic Sea |
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| Another crazy, painted-on ceiling |
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| Pope Benedict's Gardens |
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| The Staircase on the way out |
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| Final meal in Roma -- tortellini con prosciutto e panna with some Lemonsoda |
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| The view from Gianicolo Hill, where my friends and I hiked up to for a picnic our last night in Rome |
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| Some salame, provolone, and wine from the Salumiere |
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| La Fontana Acqua di Paola, directly behind us on the hill |
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| I bought this orange at a food market by our hotel in Rome. It was hands-down the best orange I've ever eaten. |
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