Submitted by Krysta La Bruna on the 2016 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Philosophy…
We arrived in Rome on Monday after a long journey, leaving from Newark, New Jersey and having a short layover in Germany. Since then, we have had the chance to see lots of historic landmarks and interesting locations. Some of the well-known places we have visited so far include the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Appian Way and the Vatican. We had the honor of attending the Epiphany mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica. We also threw coins into the famous Trevi Fountain, Lizzie McGuire style; one to return to Rome, two to find love or three to get married. Unfortunately, nobody has found Gordo yet. We even had the chance to see a Jewish museum and synagogue; afterwards, a bunch of us tried “shawarma” for the first time in the nearby Jewish neighborhood. And, of course, we have all been searching for our favorite pizza and gelato places.
Rome is a beautiful, breath-taking city full of history and culture; every corner you turn holds more to do and see. It amazes me that just wandering down the block from our hotel leads you to come across buildings that are hundreds or even thousands of years old; we are surrounded by buildings that are older than the United States! Some things are different than I expected them to be. For example, the streets are much less crowded than those of New York. In addition, I did not expect to have to pay for water at restaurants.
