The Struggle Bus

This past weekend we had a free weekend after the stressful friday of presenting and taking an exam. On Saturday, I went to Rome which was a long day, waking up at 4 am and coming back around 10:30pm. However it was well worth it and I was so glad we were allowed to go! The day started off with going around the Vatican, visting St.Peter's Basilica first. This church was huge and goregous on the inside. There was a small Mass of sorts going on inside too which was cool to see. Then next we climbed up to the dome and saw a cool view of Rome. Pictured as well are some of the many tourists in the city. It felt good to be able to speak in English again thanks to the tourist nature of the city.

Next, we walked over to the vatican museum and sistine chapel. The entrance ticket line took about 1.5 hours, but it was well worth the wait. Inside were plenty of the world's cherised statues, paintings, maps, and more that the roman empire had created or captured. It was amazing just to be there in the same room as some of these masterpieces. The museum also had beautiful hallways and I  really enjoyed it and the sistine chappel which was connected to the museum. Here are some pictures of the museum pieces- a bust of sophocles, a famous rafael painting, and a sardinian map. I found home!

Next, we took a bus (which took a while to find, but we found it!) and we went to the colosseum and learned a lot about the engineering of the colloseum, how it was used, and just stared in awe that it was still standing. We also were able to see many Roman forums, a fort, and other architecure in the area. Minus the annoying marketing scammers that came around, it was a wonderful day!

The next day I slept in a little after exhuastion from the day before and then made my way over to the molentargius park to see some flamingoes. There were not as many as I expected but it was still cool to see them in their natural habitat. Then, I made my way over to poetto and enjoyed the beach for some time. I am really going to miss the beautiful water when I get back. The way back was a struggle. The buses were less frequent and jam packed from all the people going home. Unfortunately we had to miss 6 busses, and took a bus outbound to try to beat the rush of people. This technique worked and about 3 hours later we finally got a bus back. I subsequently ate an entire pizza by myself for the first time. Here is a picture of the flamingoes and the street I relaxed at waiting for the bus.