Noe Limit: Roma

Ok I've been slacking on the posting! We went to Rome, March 4-7. It was amazing! It is a mix of old (and by old I mean ancient) and modern. The history is like no other place, and you can't help but be totally enthralled by the legends, myths and facts associated with Rome. It did steal my camera so the next few posts will be on borrow pictures, but you all will still get to see the beautiful sights!!

Thursday we rushed to the airport, only having an hour and forty minutes to make it from campus to the airport and check in. Well we didn't have to worry about being late because the flight ended up being 45 minutes late. There were roughly 15 CIMBAs on the flight, so we had lots of people to hang out with in the airport. Once we got to Rome, our hostel was really easy to find and so was a store selling cheap bottles of wine :) We checked in to the hostel, then met up with some Cimba guys that go to KU, to explore the Roman nightlife.

Friday morning, we got up to discover that the day was gorgeous, sunny and nearly cloudless, but that did not last long. We walked to the Coliseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine hill area. When walking up to the Coliseum we met a guy that was promoting tours of the surrounding area and it was only 10 euros more than our tickets and we did not have to wait in any lines so we decided to do it! We got inside the Coliseum and it unfortunately started clouding up. During the tour there was some sprinkles but nothing too bad. The tour guide was good and kept stressing how the Coliseum is portrayed wrong in movies. After the Coliseum we did the tour for the Palatine hill and it started pouring. The tour guide led us to shelter and we hung out while the rain let up. We had umbrellas but after awhile we were soaked and freezing!! That night we did the Spanish Steps pub crawl, we went to several different bars. There was many CIMBAs on it, giving us lots of people to hang out with.

Saturday, we got up and went to Vatican City. We saw the museum, which was mostly paintings on the walls and sculptures. It was not like a typical museum. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful. Its amazing to see the art in real life that has millions of reprints around the world. The Basilica was the last stop in Vatican CIty, and it is unbelievable how large this place is. The Statue of Liberty can be stood up twice inside its dome. After the Vatican, we made our way to see the Spanish Steps in the daytime and do a bit of shopping. While we were walking around we saw a crowd gathered around a group of break dancers. It was the coolest thing to watch! Man those guys are in great shape, I do not know how they do the things they do! That night we met up with CIMBAs at the Trevi fountain to take some pictures. The fountain is unreal. We all threw coins in to ensure a speedy return to Rome.

Sunday, we went back to Vatican City to listen to the Pope speak to the masses. We basically couldn't understand a word, but it was amazing to see the masses that were touched by it. Then, we went to the Trevi fountain in the daytime and took even more pictures. Then we went to the Pantheon, the structure is amazing! I would love to know how the ceiling was made. After that we had to go back to the hostel and head to the airport and fly back to PdG.

A fountain we found on Friday morning.