Day 1
The first day we met at CVG at 11:00 am. I was very excited to finally be leaving for Rome. The group had no issues with the flight to Rome. On the plan we watched Fred Claus and Mama Mia.
Day 2
On the second day we arrived in Rome. We travel through Italian customs without any problems except they didn't stamp any of our passports on the first open spot. Once we made it out of the airport, we bought tickets for the train at a small shop. Unfortunately, they ran out of tickets so we continued on towards the train. When we reached the train station, the rest of the group bought train tickets and everyone bought a 7 day metro pass. Once everyone had a train and metro pass, we waited for the train to arrive. The train we took was the Leonardo Da Vinci Express that goes from the Airport to Termini Station. Before boarding the train we had to validate our pass in a machine. This made the tickets good for 90 minutes. Apparently some people missed this part.
When we reached Termini Station, we unboarded the train and headed to the metro. We took the Red A line two station up to Barbarini. When we reached Barbarini, we got off and walked 2 minutes to the hotel, Hotel Cinquantatre. I was assigned to room 501 with Chris and Remo. It was a nice little room with three single beds. The bathroom was full of marble and even include a bidet.
Although the itinerary said we were going to do a bus tour, buy the time we finished checking in we would not have had that much time to utilize the tour. Instead, we went out and had lunch in smaller groups and went exploring. We had lunch at Za Cir. They had a $4 margarita wood fire pizza. After eating, we went to the quattro fountanae. We continued meandering around historic Rome till we reached the Trevi fountain. It was amazing to see the fountain. It was in reflection my favorite piece of art that I saw. After the Trevi Fountain, we walked to the Spanish steps. The view from the top was amazing.
We then headed back to the hotel to hang out for a while. We spent time getting to know each other up on the 6th floor. Later that night we went out looking for a place to hang out and found that Piano bars are not necessarily places where people go to hear someone play the piano. We ended up at Pepe's a block from the hotel.
Day 3
I woke up after the first night in Rome like I would wake up for the rest of the trip to the sound of chairs moving around on the 6th floor where we ate breakfast every morning. Breakfast included croissants with and orange glaze; pound cake; toast with Nutella, jellies, goat cheese and butter; clementines; a variety of flavors of yogurt (including a delicious banana); chocolate with hazelnuts; orange, pineapple, and grapefruit juice; milk; a variety of expresso based drinks including cafe latte, espresso and cappuccino; and hot tea.
Stewart took us to a crypt for one of the monasteries in Italy. It was fascinating. The walls were covered with human bones. It was both artistic and eerie. There were full skeletons with skin still intact. It was something that you would never see anywhere in America. I bought a postcard since we were not allowed to take pictures.
We left the crypt and headed to the metro station where we took the metro to Termini and switched to the blue line. We took the blue line down to the Circo Massimo station. When we exited the station we were at the Circus Maximus (or what little was left of it). I was more impressed with the Palatine structures located behind the Circus Maximus than the Circus Maximus itself. There was little left. We took the opportunity to get a group picture in front of the structure.
After seeing the Circus Maximus, we headed to the Bath of Carcalla. They were amazing. I never imagined that any bath (even the imperial baths) would be that large. The looked like they were over three stories tall. It really made me think about the quality of their building seeing their size and knowing that they were almost 2000 years old. The pictures that I took there were amazing, with the blue skys and the umbrella pines. I was absolutely amazed at how the baths looked. Also, I was fascinated with the tile mosaics. They were beautiful. Even the floors had colourful tile patterns.
From the Baths, we headed to the Theatro de Marcella (theatre of marcellus). I found it interesting to see how this building that about 2000 years old had been converted multiple times to serve different purposes. Currently it housed apartments. It was really neat to see how the building had evolved with time.
After the Theatre, we went to find lunch. We started walking towards the Pantheon (our next place we were visiting). On our way we ran into a street actor dressed as a centurion. We took some photos and payed some money. We then walked up the typewriter building. We saw the Italian tomb of the unknown solider. It was cool to see that some living monuments span across continents. We walked through the museum that houses the history of the Italian state and made our way out the the side balconies. From there, we could see all of Rome. It was breathtaking.
We found a little pizza place near the pantheon where we purchased some pizza based on its weight. I had a prosciutto and zucchini pizza that was delicious.
The next sight we saw was the pantheon. It was cool to see but would have been much better if it had been sunny outside. The size of the dome was still impressive.
After the pantheon we started wandering back to the hotel going into some of the shops. Once back at the hotel I opted to take a short nap. That night I had dinner at a little carryout place on Barbarini plazza.
Day 4
On the fourth day of the trip, we went to the Colosseum a few stops past the Circus Maximus on the metro. When we exited the station, we immediately saw the Colosseum. It was enormous. It was amazing. It simply took my breath away. I always imagined it as being large, but no picture can capture its true size. Outside the Colosseum, a Santa 5k looked like it was forming up. I thought it was kinda cool to see a reminder of the Christmas season. We headed towards the Colosseum to meet our tour guide. Unfortunately, we found out that we didn't have one even though it was paid for (Good luck on getting that money back Dr. Suckariah). We ended up just spending time inside looking around. It was really cool. There was a small section that had been reconstructed to look like what archaeologist imagine that the Colosseum looked like in its prime days during the Roman empire. Lunch was at a small restaurant a few blocks away from the Colosseum. Spaghetti pomodoro e basilla. Yum.
Next we headed back to the Colosseum where we were meeting to go to the Forum. In this area, there were tons of men selling knock-off purses, watches, belts and watercolors. It gave people a chance to haggle for some Prada purses. It was fun watching these blackmarketters try to pawn off their goods.
Once everyone arrived at the Colosseum, we headed over to the forum. I was actually kind of disappointed by the forum. I had always thought that there was a lot more of it standing. It seemed like most of it was in runes. The group tour guides were able to pick out some of the building and give history on them.
After the Forum, we were on our own. For dinner that night we ate at a little mom and pop restaurant by the Spanish steps. I had a wonderful wild bore.Day 5
We took a bus to Pompeii. The bus was different than the ones you see in America. It had two doors for getting on and off and no toilet. The drive down to Pompeii took about three hours. Some of the views were amazing. When we arrived near Pompeii we stopped at a restaurant to eat. At the restaurant I had spaghetti al pomodoro again and it was good. We all knew that we needed to pay after seeing two of the employees were carrying concealed weapons.
When we arrived at Pompeii, we met up with our tour guide. He took us around giving us the history and information about everything we were seeing. He had some interesting knowledge about the area and history and was able to throw in quite a few good jokes. It was a very educational and fun experience. I was able to take tons of excellent photos thanks to the rain holding out.
After the bus ride back, a group of us went back to Za Cir where I made the mistake of ordering the steak off their tourist menu. They had normal steaks of their regular menu that would have been fine, but this steak was nasty. Luckily people didn't all their pizza and I was able to enjoy their extras for dinner.
Day 6
On the 6th day we visited the Bourghese Museum. It had some really interesting pieces of art including the Rape of Persephone. It was amazing to see how it was sculpted in a way where the mans hand was creating an imprint in the woman's thigh.
We had lunch at Pepe's which was pretty good. We then spent the rest of the day going in and out of shops along the main streets near the hotel.
At 8:00 we meet up with the group at a restaurant chosen by the Dean. There we enjoyed wonderful wine, and a 5 course meal. The first course was a parmesan meatball over greens and green tomato sauce. Second course was a red pasta. Third courses was a white pasta. Fourth course was Lamb and roasted potatoes. The Fifth course was apple crostata, three chocolate moose and a chocolate cake. At the end of the meal, Professor Thompson shared some grappa with us. It had a bit of a kick to it. It was a delicious meal and I am grateful that the Dean treated us to it.
Day 7
We took the same bus again to Florence. It was a long 4 hour bus ride. We arrived around 12:00. We headed to a church that had amazing woodwork on all of beams. The building had to be at least 7 stories tall. There were crypts scattered all around the ground. There we also some amazing painting on the walls.
We had lunch a one of the bars on the square.
After lunch, we headed to the Doumo. It was amazing to see its size. The fresco on the dome was amazing. The dome had to be about 12 stories tall. Most of the students decided to pay to climb to the top of the dome. It was well worth it. From the top, you could see the entire city. It was an absolutely amazing view.
After we came down from the Doumo, we headed to the Florence Academia where we saw David. It was amazing to see how large this sculpture was. Inside academia, they also had a musical instrument exhibit. On display were four Stradivarius (2 violins, 1 viola and a cello). It was disappointing in my opinion to see some of the best sounding instruments in the world sitting in a glass case in a museum.
We then started heading back towards where the bus was going to pick us up. We passed the location where the David originally stood. There, we saw two lion statues that reminded me of home. They looked a lot like Mick and Mack outside McMicken Hall.
It was a long bus ride back to Rome, but time passed quickly as we were all tired and asleep.
Day 8
On the 8th day, we took the Red line to Termini, and switched to the Blue line. We took the blue line down to Magdella-EUR station. At the EUR station, we caught the Ostia-Lido train. We took the Ostia-Lido train to Ostia Antica. The runes were a few blocks from the station.
Inside Ostia, we broke off into groups that were led by group 5 who researched it for their first PBL. It was really interesting to me since I had researched Ostia to see the runes. There was a lot more to see that what I had read online when doing my research. I was somewhat disappointed because everyone got bored and wanted to leave after we had only been there for about an hour. I could have easily spent a lot more time looking around. It was a general consensus that we should have come to Ostia before going to Pompeii because people seemed to think that Pompeii was much more interesting that Ostia.
After visiting Ostia, we had the option of visiting the EUR. I opted to go to Vatican City instead. It was amazing to see the size and splendor even standing outside in St. Peter's square. The 125 ft Christmas tree was really beautiful even without any lights. I had to laugh when I noticed that there were two large Popetrons, one on each side of the square. When we entered the Basilica the only thing I could say was WOW. The amount of marble and gold was amazing. The alter was gorgeous. It was really cool.
For dinner, I went to a very nice restaurant, Cafe Veneto. There I shared a spinach and ricotta ravioli, Chateaubriand for two and tirimisu. It was one of the best meal I have even eaten (and more than I have ever pair for one too).
Day 9
On the last day in Rome, I spent the day window shopping by the Spanish steps, going to a few areas I we missed throughout the week and the Bourghese Park. It was a pleasant relaxing day and helped bring the trip to a relaxing close.
Day 10
The flight was long. Delta sucks for not holding the connecting flight two more minutes, but it was nice when I finally made it back to Cincinnati at 11:30pm
Reflection on the whole trip
It was an amazing experience that give me a new view on ancient and modern Rome. I really enjoyed the freedom we were given when not visiting sights as a groups. It was nice to have the opportunity to see things not listed on the itinerary. The only complaint about the whole trip from a planning perspective was the lack of time in Florence. It would have been nice to have done more shopping there. Many people had waited to buy things because they wanted to have enough to shop in Florence.
Thoughts about Rome
- I like free water at restaurants
- Service charge for sitting down at a table
- $6 for a bottle of Coke
- What is ice??
- PDA
- Diesel
- Cheap wine
- Pick pockets over-hyped or we were just conscious of the possibility
- Black market designer goods
Thoughts about the class
I really enjoyed the class. It was required me to think about everything in a very different way than I do in most of my classes. The only class I have taken that is similar to the Rome class was my product design class. The projects really allowed for us to utilize our strengths and work together as a team to solve problems.
There are a few things that could be improved. I don't feel like the 2nd PBLs were a little to abstract. Luckily this was fixed by having a professor as a mentor for each group. My other complaint was a lack of communication about our progress in the class. It wasn't till I arrived in Rome that I found out my proposed grade for the first PBL. We should have had this feedback a week or two after we present the first PBL.
I really enjoyed this class and if I can do another Architecture and Construction class next year I hope I can sign up for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment