Submitted by Allison Andreola on the 2017 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…
Week two in Rome and I’ve fallen in love with this city! There is so much incredible history here and so much to see and do. Rome is so different from any other city I’ve been to. There are no tall skyscrapers or modern buildings. Everything is old, many of the streets are still cobblestone, and even the colors of the city buildings are different (everything is soft oranges and yellows rather than grays). Over the weekend, I decided to explore with a friend and we ended up stumbling across the Roman Forum. It was incredible to see and walk the ruins of an ancient empire, one which I’ve been learning about since elementary school. I now find myself picturing what the places where I walk looked like thousands of years ago, and it’s given me a whole new perspective on the city. Nothing I’ve seen in the United States even compares to the history in Rome and I can’t wait to explore more ancient monuments and museums.