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Roma” there is no finer word to express the essence of such a majestic place. The elegance, the simplicity, the grandeur is all summed up in the eloquence of one simple word: “Roma.”
After a disappointing early ending to yesterday, we hit the streets overflowing with excitement. We had so much to see and the sun was shining. It would be a wonderful day in Rome. We took the metro to the Coliseum and walked down the street to the prison where Peter and Paul were kept. Upon our arrival we were disappointed to find that the place had been closed. So we walked back to the entrance of the Forum. When we got there, we discovered that we needed to pay to enter. Figuring we could see just as well from up on Capitol Hill, we made the trek back that direction to look out over the whole Forum. Everyone was so positive and we had a great time, despite the extra walking. 
From there we walked out though the Campidoglio, the “square” that Michelangelo designed and sculpted the facades for on our way to the Pantheon. Earlier that day it had rained off and on, as it tends to do in Rome, so when we got to the Pantheon we could see the sloped floor and drainage system at work. Here we tried our first taste of Gelato and prepared for the next leg of our amazing race.
The Trevi Fountain. I cannot in words express how excited I was to experience this incredible display. I can only tell you that I was not disappointed in the least. A few of us even went back again that evening to see it one more time. The craftsmanship, the sheer immensity of the work, and the gorgeous sunlight made the experience everything I had hoped for and far more.
From there we went to the Cappuccian Crypt. This Crypt was not quite the follow up to the Trevi Fountain that one would hope for, but then again, after such an incredible work of art, what could be? The crypt held the bones of all of the monks who had served in the Monastery displayed in artistic formations in small rooms underground.
The last place we went before dinner was the Church where we saw Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa. In this little church we had a lecture on St. Teresa of Avila and from there we headed home as the sun set over the city of Rome.
What a day. We ended with dinner together where Shane ate a whole Squid (it came on his pizza) and I attempted to acquire a taste for wine yet again, to no avail. But for some of us the day was hardly over. After half of one of tomorrow’s lectures, we hit the streets of Rome with no Forrest to lead the way. We saw the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, and as I mentioned before, we stopped for our second round of gelato and ate in the stillness of the evening as we admired the Trevi Fountain by streetlight.
--Kara Heatherly
