Senātus Populusque Rōmānus

This past weekend we took a two night trip to Italy's capital, Rome. On Friday, despite the rain, we toured the Roman Forum where we saw the stone Julius Caesar was cremated and the Senate House. Along the same tour, we saw the new house of Augustus Caesar after he had won the civil war against Brutus and the conspirators. We saw a myriad of temples for figures like Venus, Apollo, and Romulus as well as walking along the Via Sacra, where triumphant Romans would parade the spoils of a war through the streets. After the Forum tour, we went to the Coliseum and walked around the site of gladiator fights, sports contests, and public executions. Though a lot of it was destroyed in an earthquake, the tunnels around the stadium were still intact and some of the marble still showed. As we walked around more, we came across a monument for the first Italian president and Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. For dinner, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, because when in Rome, eat some American food by a company that was founded in London. The food was really good but a little on the pricey side which was somewhat expected though not to that extent.

On Saturday, we traveled to Vatican State and pretty much stayed there until the end of the day. We toured Saint Peter's Basilica and split into two groups: one went along the ground floors of the church and the other went to the top floors of the Basilica and later, to the actual dome on the top of the Church where we could see Rome from every angle. Next, we went to the Vatican Museum which was decent, but felt very rushed. The tour guide did not touch on a lot of the art works and we walked fast through many exhibits and did not feel very immersive. I may take a trip back to Rome just for the Vatican Museum to take more time actually looking at the art. After the museum, we went to the Sistine Chapel and then back to the Basilica. When the tour was done, we grouped back up and split up for lunch. I went with a group that later went to the Trevi Fountain and it was amazing. We took a couple of pictures and as tradition, I tossed a coin in and made a wish.

The final day, we only had a few hours to spend before the bus back to Montepulciano. We went to the Spanish Steps and walked to the Piazza Popolo and to a set of Gardens to play some frisbee while another group went shopping around the main square below the Steps. We all met back at the Steps and soon, we found ourselves on the bus back to our little town in the mountains.