Roma!
So the second we reached the outskirts of Rome, there were ruins everywhere. Some aqueducts here, oh an ancient palace here, carved marble column capitals there... Then our bus got into the city and traffic. We passed the Colosseum, some more ruins, and bumped our way to the hotel. It was defiantly overwhelming. All these famous images being seen in person, so fast, too crazy! It already felt tired and we hadn't even seen anything yet!
After we threw our bags down in our rooms, we rushed over the Rome program's studio where the students were presenting their projects before they left for their field trip the next day. We got there at the end and said hi to our friends etc. That night we started our Roma experience the only way you can...
With a TOGA PARTY!
It was a little decadent...but it was the Ides of March after all
Much fun was had by all...
The next day wasn't the best day however.
Rob and I woke up a few minutes too late and missed the group as they left for the day's activities. His phone wasn't working so we just decided to try and meet up with the group at the second place on the list...the Jubilee Church. We didn't know a word of Italian, we had never used their metro, and we didn't even know where the church was...but we headed out anyway. At the metro I tried to ask where the church was...¨J U B I L E E - C H U R C H? Do you know where it is? ¨ No one knew what I was talking about until someone finally understood...¨Ahh J U B L L E O, yes...¨ We took the metro out to one of the last stops and got on the bus they said to use, hoping we would just see the church from the window. Long story short- we were dropped off in a sheep field, feeling more lost than ever, hopped on 3 buses being passed around by the drivers who couldn't seem to tell us where the church was. Finally someone at a gas station made us a hilarious map that took us a mile away from the main road, through a poppy field, and finally to the obscure church. When we arrived, there was no class, and it wasn't even open. We made our way back to Roma after we sketched a little. We finally found the group who told us that they all missed the morning tour too, the Jubilee Church tour was canceled, and that they had just done some site seeing around town instead. Rob and I were pretty mad that we wasted our first day in Roma, but it was our fault anyway...so oh well.
I got my camera back from Victoria (who had had it and prevented me for documenting the crazy day!) and tried to make up for the lost time, snapping pictures all the way back to the hotel.
The ¨wedding cake building¨ -ancient building rebuilt by Mussolini
Roma Beauty
Cool little buildings that look like miniature St. Peters. Michelangelo was said to have worked and lived there
This is the Piazza
Campo where the Rome students have their apartments where we stayed when they left.
The next day was our tour of the ancient city. This place was incredible. Pieces of marble, intricately carved, just laying around like trash.
One of the ¨city gates¨
The awesome green space outside of the Colosseum...We had our lunch here later in the day.
The exposed end of a basilica long gone. I wonder if it was lost in the same earthquake that destroyed half the Colosseum...
Our group posing w. a gladiator outside the Colosseum before our tour. These guys were everywhere pressuring you to take a picture with them for €€.
Our tour was awesome. We decided to get a guided tour, a good decision. Our tour guide was so proud of Roma and Italy it was crazy. She was hilarious and made fun of everyone (in a funny way) and kept saying how Roma is the greatest city on earth and how America has nothing on it, etc.
She told us that there is some speculation about restoring the building to its original condition. I think that would ruin it. The decay is what is so beautiful about it. It was really
erie to stand near where so many thousands had died brutally.
Its crazy that the Colosseum is so old that it has been through earthquakes in a region where there are no earthquakes anymore...(i guess there will be quakes once again but, I really hope not...Rome wouldn't stand a chance)
From here we climbed the Palatine Hill with its ruins and views of the forum.
An awesome fountain where the water trickles through the moss...I found out that this was 'new'...only 500 years old.
Once the largest basilica in the world...now stands as impressive arches. (Did the ceiling from
DC's union station get designed to look the like the ceiling here?) We learned about this in History Class back in 2004...it was cool to finally see.
The forum in spring
We learned that these columns are made out of the most expensive marble in the world...The basilica at Catholic U has a few columns made of this material...The four center columns that were just installed at
Sagrada Familia are also of this material.
As we exited the Forum through Piazza
Campidoglio, we saw the Romulus and Remus statue. Very odd, but cool.
Piazza
Campidoglio was very cool. It was designed by Michelangelo and is considered the turning point from Renaissance to Baroque architecture. It links the ancient city to the old government center.
Next I decided to try and visit the Pantheon since the other students already saw it. I couldn't miss it!
The outside is mostly barren brick as almost all the marble has been removed...the inside is stunning though.
Just as in Cordoba, a building that was once used for a different religion has been taken over the the Christians and used for mass. This was a really small Church with only about 30 seats at the most. At least they didn't modify the building.
This was Saint Patrick's Day and Ireland's Rugby team had just beat Italy's. The plaza in front of our building was insane with drunk Italians and Irish. Fights kept breaking out and people were throwing beer bottles everywhere. We decided to go down for a little bit but, kept our mouths shut about Ireland or St. Patrick...
haha
The Next day we visited an awesome Baroque church, St.
Ivo. We had a sketching assignment here and had to figure out the shape of the dome.
It has a really weird shape, but i figured it out...it was actually pretty fun. It's a star of David with one triangle having convex circular points, and the other triangle having concave rounded points.
It is my favorite church for sure...the inside was really pure and white.
Next we met in Piazza
Navona for another sketching assignment. We wanted to see the Pope at St. Peters so we decided to do the assignment later and ran over to the Vatican.
Awesome view of Michelangelo's masterpiece
The Pope addressing the people. It was pretty cool to see him, he spoke in at least 10 languages, but he only spoke in English for about 2 seconds.
Cool Baroque churches side by side
After this I decided to see the
Trevi Fountain since I missed it earlier. It was really awesome and clean!
I love how it looks like the bottom of the building is natural and coming out of the ground. It makes it seem like the rest was carved from solid rock.
We ended our day at this church. Another building from History Class...I forgot the name and it was closed :(
Im starting to loose track of the days and what we did, we did so much! The next day I visited Piazza Popolo with its twin churches.
I noticed a crowd of people a top this cool overlook and decided to check it out. It took me to a cool park w/ great views of the city.
The City from the park...St. Peter's is unmistakable in the background
The Park was connected to the famous Spanish Steps so I walked over to them. The streets below were crowded with high-end shoppers.
Church domes seem to be everywhere...Rome has more churchs than anyother city in the world
The Spanish steps are more like bleechers...it was hard to even get down...I can't imagine this city in the summer...I bet no one can even move 100 feet in an hour.
That night, Victoria and I decided to take a look at the city's monuments at night. It was supprisingly not crowded...almost deserted. Night in Rome is much better
The Spanish Steps, actually visable!
The next day was the Vatican Day. We met in the Piazza before entering the church and climbing the dome
The climb to the first level was not too bad and afforded us some aweomse views from the inside.
The church below...
The next part was a little unsetteling. As we got closer to the top of the dome, the curve got greater and greater and it was hard to stand straight. Ben showing the extreme angle...
After a tiny spiral staircase, we made it to the top for some of the best views of Rome.
The path was so tight that I'm sure it wouldn't still be open in the US (if it was there) because it was so far from being up to code...Oh well, I'm glad it's in Europe where they don't care!
Next we decended and walked around the inside fo the cathedral...It was cool, but the view from about 150 feet higher in this space was much better!
Our last stop in Rome was the Tempietto. A miniture little 'church' which was actually built as a monument to Saint Peter...it resembled Saint Peter´s too.
Roma was awesome, but I am very happy to be studying in BCN instead. Roma was just too much. There is also a lack of the industrial revolution architecture that I love so much. BCN has a nice balance of old and new.
Our tour started with an explanation from the project's (new) main architect, a very old man who has been working on the project for a long time (since it started in 1880?) But seriously, he had many interesting things to say and he gave a brief history. The project started in the 1880s as a common Gothic cathedral. Gaudi took over the project later and changed everything. He worked on it obsessively until he death in the 1920s. Work stopped on it when the Civil War broke out in the 1930s and many of Gaudi's models were destroyed along with his studio. The church sat, totally unfinished (only one tower facade was finished) until the 1950s. Work has been on going since. 
Ongoing construction of the naive
The bleak and strange Passion Facade. Completed in the 1980s, some people love it, some hate it. Its hard to see, but the crucifix is horizontal with Jesus hanging off it by his wrists...I think this is really gruesome.
After our talk outside, we headed inside to check out the naive. It was spectacular!
At the top of this photo, you can see where the ceiling stops and the sky flows in...This is not the way that it will look for long, but there is something very poetic about it...i almost wish they would leave this side open to the ocean.
The Ocean view from this side as viewed later in our tour.
The columns reminded me of some sort of bones or ligaments inside of some strange animal. Gaudi loved organic shapes. They should call this the cathedral of bones.
A closeup of the ceiling and its unique joints
It is strange to see the old, finished parts mixed with the construction. Here, old stained glass windows pour colored light onto the scaffolding.
Next, we headed up to the top of the naive and to the roof to view more construction. We took this rickety elevator.
The roof has spires that are capped with alternating sculptures of grapes with wine glasses & wheat with communion hosts. This is one of the giant hosts awaiting placement.
The giant grapes. This is a detail that I think is cheesy, but also cool. A lot of things in this project seem a little cheesy but are also very cool...especially once you figure out the symbolism.
The terminus of the naive moving forward. From the darkness of the spires I believe that they have been there for at least 80 years.
Our group on the roof
You can see our site from the roof really well. It is very close (the giant blue bullet and the area right in front of it)
On the roof, we were really close to the construction of one of the two spires that will crown the church. This one was huge, but it is the smaller one.
Intricate brick work inside of the spire...it's great to see that at least here, the methods of old are still utilized.
Next we headed down to the basement museum. Passing through the naive again, I snapped a few pictures. 
Stained glass windows with no glass
The museum was very interesting and helped explain some of the details in the church.
There were many drawings of the yet to be finished parts of the church. Plans include a gigantic spire with a huge cross that people could actually go inside of. This is a drawing of the one facade that has still not been complete. It looks like it will be very cheesy with gumdrop shapes and Terracotta clouds. Only time will tell...
There were many drawings of the yet to be finished parts of the church. Plans include a gigantic spire with a huge cross that people could actually go inside of. This is a drawing of the one facade that has still not been complete. It looks like it will be very cheesy with gumdrop shapes and Terracotta clouds. Only time will tell...
Our first mission was to walk along the old Roman wall that still stands on one side of the city. It was a very interesting walk and the views were great.
After this we had the rest of the day to just explore the city... There 
