"Irrational love is blind"

One of the beautiful views of the city on our excursion!

Today was long, exhausting, hot, but mostly beautiful. We started off on a rough start...my roommates and I didn't wake up to our alarm. But we managed to shower and get ready fast and made it down to the courtyard by 11:30 to start our day's adventures.

We followed Max (the owner of the apartment building/our guide) through St. Peter's Square to a street filled with shop after shop calling my name. We eventually stopped at a little bar (which is Italian for cafe) named Da Vito E Dina. They walked us to a back room where tables were set up awaiting us. We were served plate after plate of lasagna, spaghetti, and ravioli. We shared as a table taking bite after bite of real Italian food. Meanwhile our glasses were always full of white wine. Fascinating enough, we were served more wine than water. I don't hate it. For dessert we had an assortment of tiramisu, flan, fruit, and a pudding type dish I never caught the name of.

Never seen Tiramisu like this before!

After this large meal we walked all the way across the Tevere River (Tiber in English). The bus drivers were on strike, which happens often as they feel they deserve some recognition and probably more moolah. Either way, our 4 hour excursion ended up lasting 7 and a half hours. I am actually thankful that this was the case because we got to work off our lunch while admiring all the city has to offer.

Walking through the city we went through different parks stopping to admire different statues and views of the city. One of the statues we saw in a park was 'The Lady of the Lake'.

The lady of the lake! As well as a couple on a canoe

We finally arrived at our first destination the Borghese Galleria. This wasn't a home to the Borghese family but just a place where they kept art and sculptures. Hopefully I'll have the same luxury one day...bah. Our tour guide's name was Fredrica and she gave us all headsets so we could hear her from far away. She was an art history major in college and was born in raised in Rome. I was absolutely taken aback by so many pieces of art. One of my favorites was the 'Venere che benda Amore' by Tiziano Vecellio. This painting shows two cupids, one of which is blindfolded. The blindfolded cupid represents irrational love which is blind whereas the other cupid represents rational love.

Venere che benda Amore, by Tiziano Vecellio

Another one of my favorites is the most popular sculpture by Bernini, who was featured throughout the gallery. This sculpture was called 'Apollo e Dafne'. It shows the god Apollo (who was known to be rather ridiculously good looking) chasing after Dafne, a nymph. He was madly in love with her but she hated him...poor guy. She hated him so much she prayed to the gods to turn her into a tree to get away from him. In the sculpture you can see her toes turning to roots, her hair turning to leaves, and her body turning to bark. It's absolutely magnificent. The detail in the marble was astounding. Fredrica told us that the symbolism behind this sculpture is, "When you chase after beauty you may end up with dead leaves and dust in your hands". I also loved his sculpture called 'Pluto e Proserpina'.

Apollo e Dafne, by Bernini

We then continued walking through multiple piazza's such as de Popolo, de Navona, de Colonna, and de Barberini. Each had different relics and fountains and tons of tourists. My favorite was the Piazza de Navona which was filled with artists selling paintings all through the center. There was also a precious old man attempting to collect some money while lipsyncing to a boombox. I don't think he made much money...

Piazza de Navona

We then went to the Trevi fountain. When you throw one coin in it means you'll come to Rome again, if you throw two it means you'll fall in love with an Italian man (mama mia), if you throw in three it means you'll marry the italian man. Don't worry Adam I only threw in one haha.

The Trevi Fountain!

We then went to the Pantheon which houses the tombs for the only two kings Italy ever had, as well as the tomb of Raphael. There's no roof to the Pantheon so when it rains it goes right into the center of the dome shaped building. There are drains in the center to reduce any flooding.

And last but not least...my favorite stop. Gelato! After this long long long touristy day I ended it with a large gelato. I had Crema Florencia and Baccio. (For you Carly!) I have no idea what was in the first but the second is chocolate and hazelnut. Yummm.

By 5:00 the bus drivers were back in action so we took a bus back home to the Residence San Pietro where we relaxed and grabbed a quick dinner. Tomorrow we begin at 7:30 AM...might I remind you that is 1:30 AM your time. I haven't fully adjusted to the time change but I am definitely on my way.

Ciao for now!