Well our excursion in Italy had finally come to a close and it was time to go back home. Although the whole experience was amazing, I think we were all a little glad to be going back, to see English on the signs and understand the conversations around us.
Thankfully we were able to get the charter bus and we took that to the airport instead of the train. This saved us a lot of time and hassle and I'm really glad we did that instead.
Checking our baggage seemed to take a little longer than it should have, but we arrived early enough and we had plenty of time to spare, for the moment. As it turned out, we had an extra hour of spare time, although this pretty much screwed us over in Atlanta later on. But anyway, our flight landed a little late and we had some extra time to look through the duty free store.
So eventually the plane arrived and we were able to board. The flight to Atlanta was less than comfortable, to say the least. For whatever reason, I really wasn't able to sleep as much as I had planned, and the flight lasted almost 12 hours which just extended the unpleasantness.
But finally we landed around 5:10 and we were cutting it pretty close because our next flight was scheduled for 5:35. That flight, however, got delayed until 6:00 so we still had a little bit of hope. But then the plane in front of us at our gate took forever to leave. So we sat on the runway just waiting for this plane to get out of the way for at least 10 mintues, which, conveniently enough, was the difference of making out connection.
But at this point we were still hoping that we could make it somehow. So we rushed through the terminal as fast as we could. For whatever reason, international flights had to collect their own baggage and then recheck it. So that held us up. And of course, when we got to customs the line was unbelievably long. It took forever to get through that, but once we did, we sprinted to our terminal and of course just missed our flight by 5 minutes. Somehow, a couple people were able to make it on to the flight, which, if you ask me, is complete crap, they should have held the plane for the rest of us, especially since the 25 of us made up nearly half the flight.
But regardless, there were two flights left going to Cincinnati and it was pretty much a free-for-all. Everyone was trying to get on the 6:30 or 9:30 flight. Of course with my luck, I got the 9:30 flight, which, by the way, was delayed to 9:55. But this at least gave me a bunch of time to sit around and do nothing so I grabbed some dinner and a drink.
The flight to Cincinnati wasn't bad at all, I think. I'm not entirely sure, I fell asleep before we took off and after we landed. But once we landed, I was just thankful to be back, but of course the difficulties didn't end there. You'd think that collecting my luggage would be a simple task, but that was botched as well. I waited at baggage claim #1 that said Atlanta for about 15 minutes before I was tired of waiting and went to customer service to ask them wear my bags were. Well, they scanned my ticket and said that my bags should be right there at baggage claim #5. So I went over there, and sure enough, there was my bag at claim #5, which was conveniently labeled "Philadelphia".
Once I got my bags I met my dad outside and from there it was a straight drive back home. Unfortunately, home is a 4 hour drive to Cleveland, but luckily there weren't any problems with this part of my journey. I eventually got home at 4:30 AM, and later the next day added it all up and found out that I had one a total of about 27 hours of travel.
All and all, it wasn't the greatest return home, but I would definitely do it all again for a chance to go back to Italy. That was one of the funnest trips I've been on and I can't wait for another opportunity like it.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 19th
On Friday, I spent most of the morning and afternoon at the Vatican. I spent a few hours in the museum just looking at the thousands and thousands of priceless artifacts all around. It's just amazing how much the church actually has, and I can't even imagine what other priceless treasures they might have hidden in their vaults. It was actually quite upsetting to me because as I was walking through the museum, I couldn't stop thinking about how many more millions of dollars the church would be able to raise by simply auctioning off one artifact than I could ever donate to charity in my whole life.
But regardless, the many ancient treasures were amazing to gaze at. They had everything you could imagine, everything from 4,000 year old Egyptian mummies to 20th century religious paintings. But, of course, the real reason anyone ever goes to the Vatican Museum is the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo alone and is one of the most amazing frescoes ever painted. It's absolutely remarkable how much detail he put into every figure, no matter how small.
After the museum, we went to St. Peter's again. Although this was the second time I went in, I'm glad that I went in because there were a lot of things that I missed the first time. I completely forgot about the statue of St. Peter whose feet you're supposed to rub for good luck. It's unbelievable how many people have rubbed his feet, his toes are completely gone. Also, the basilica looked completely different than the first time because it was actually sunny. When I went earlier it had been dark and overcast and so it was hard to see everything. But now that the sun was out, everything was revealed in all it's splendour and I could see just how extravagant St. Peter's truly was. I also was able to see into St. Peter's tomb the second time around. They had it sectioned off earlier, most likely due to cleaning for Christmas, and I wasn't able to get close enough to see down the steps. I was also able to get closer to some sculptures and statues that I hadn't been able to see before. Unfortunately for the others who hadn't come to St. Peter's earlier, they weren't able to see Michelangelo's Pieta because they had scaffolding all over it and were cleaning the glass.
After St. Peter's we left the Vatican City and went back to the hotel. Most people just chilled there for a while, but I went out to pick up a few last minute things for Christmas. After I was done with that and got back to the hotel, everyone was hungry and we all wanted to eat somewhere. After a week of Italian pizza and panini's we all had a taste for something American so we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. There we all pretty much got big, greasy burgers and they seemed to taste better than usual.
But regardless, the many ancient treasures were amazing to gaze at. They had everything you could imagine, everything from 4,000 year old Egyptian mummies to 20th century religious paintings. But, of course, the real reason anyone ever goes to the Vatican Museum is the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo alone and is one of the most amazing frescoes ever painted. It's absolutely remarkable how much detail he put into every figure, no matter how small.
After the museum, we went to St. Peter's again. Although this was the second time I went in, I'm glad that I went in because there were a lot of things that I missed the first time. I completely forgot about the statue of St. Peter whose feet you're supposed to rub for good luck. It's unbelievable how many people have rubbed his feet, his toes are completely gone. Also, the basilica looked completely different than the first time because it was actually sunny. When I went earlier it had been dark and overcast and so it was hard to see everything. But now that the sun was out, everything was revealed in all it's splendour and I could see just how extravagant St. Peter's truly was. I also was able to see into St. Peter's tomb the second time around. They had it sectioned off earlier, most likely due to cleaning for Christmas, and I wasn't able to get close enough to see down the steps. I was also able to get closer to some sculptures and statues that I hadn't been able to see before. Unfortunately for the others who hadn't come to St. Peter's earlier, they weren't able to see Michelangelo's Pieta because they had scaffolding all over it and were cleaning the glass.
After St. Peter's we left the Vatican City and went back to the hotel. Most people just chilled there for a while, but I went out to pick up a few last minute things for Christmas. After I was done with that and got back to the hotel, everyone was hungry and we all wanted to eat somewhere. After a week of Italian pizza and panini's we all had a taste for something American so we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. There we all pretty much got big, greasy burgers and they seemed to taste better than usual.
Thursday, December 18
Thursday was our day for Ostia Antica.
There really isn't much to say about Ostia Antica. It's about 30 minutes outside of Rome and we were able to take the Metro there. We mostly wandered around for a bit with one of the members of the group who researched it and they were able to tell us some facts about the city. It's more or less a giant, slightly less preserved version of Pompeii. Instead of a volcano, the nearby Tiber river buried the city under mud and preserved it for many years. It used to be the Mediterranean port of Rome.
So we wandered around those ruins for quite a while and stopped to eat lunch at a cafe that was off to the side about halfway through. They also had souvenir shop attached which I browsed through for a while.
After Ostia, we had the option of either going off on our own or going to the Eur, which was a villa built by Mussolini in an attempt to recreate Rome's former glory. However, because I wasn't able to do my shopping in Florence, I needed the afternoon to get all of that done, so I opted out of the Eur. Me and several others wandered around Rome for most of the evening just looking for good shops.
Eventually I found just about everything I needed and spent the rest of the night just wandering around different piazza's and fountains. In the Piazza di Popolo we found another little festival with a bunch of booths set up selling various items. We also went by St. Angelo's Castle and bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge was closed off because a boat had gotten stuck underneath it earlier in the week due to the high level of the Tiber.
Pictures:
There really isn't much to say about Ostia Antica. It's about 30 minutes outside of Rome and we were able to take the Metro there. We mostly wandered around for a bit with one of the members of the group who researched it and they were able to tell us some facts about the city. It's more or less a giant, slightly less preserved version of Pompeii. Instead of a volcano, the nearby Tiber river buried the city under mud and preserved it for many years. It used to be the Mediterranean port of Rome.
So we wandered around those ruins for quite a while and stopped to eat lunch at a cafe that was off to the side about halfway through. They also had souvenir shop attached which I browsed through for a while.
After Ostia, we had the option of either going off on our own or going to the Eur, which was a villa built by Mussolini in an attempt to recreate Rome's former glory. However, because I wasn't able to do my shopping in Florence, I needed the afternoon to get all of that done, so I opted out of the Eur. Me and several others wandered around Rome for most of the evening just looking for good shops.
Eventually I found just about everything I needed and spent the rest of the night just wandering around different piazza's and fountains. In the Piazza di Popolo we found another little festival with a bunch of booths set up selling various items. We also went by St. Angelo's Castle and bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge was closed off because a boat had gotten stuck underneath it earlier in the week due to the high level of the Tiber.
Pictures:
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| From Rome '08 |
Wednesday, December 17th
Wednesday was our day in Florence.
Like our trip to Pompeii, we decided to take the same charter bus to Florence. It was about a 4 and a half hour drive out to Florence, and like before, I slept most of the time, although I did read a bit here and there.
We finally arrived in Florence at around 12:30 and immediately set out in search of several churches that we'd be visiting that day. I don't really know what the name of the first church we visited was, but as usual, it was very large and very impressive. It was odd though, all of the churches in Florence seemed to be going under some kind of renovation. They all had scaffolding somewhere inside our outside.
The second church we went to was the Duomo and this one was amazing. Most of the church was relatively normal, but the dome inside was the most amazing part. It was the largest dome ever created since the Pantheon and it is absolutely enormous. On the inside, you can see scenes from Dante's Inferno painted all around it. Later that day, we even went up to the top where you can stand inside right next to giant frescoes. We also went outside to the very top of the dome. This view was absolutely breaktaking. Luckily it was very sunny that day and from the top of the duomo we got a great view of the whole of Florence.
After the duomo, we went to the Academia Gallery to look at Michelangelo's David, among other pieces of art. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the gallery, but being there was enough. It's amazing how much detail was put into that single statue and how extraordinarily lifelike it is. Looking at that sculpture alone, you can see why Michelangelo is considered one of the greatest artists.
After the gallery, it was time to leave Florence. Many of us were disappointed because we didn't get nearly as much time for shopping as we had hoped. I, myself, had planned on doing most of my Christmas shopping in Florence since Florence is supposed to be the city for shopping. But we got on the bus and had to leave. We got back to Rome around 9 or so and I was, again, very tired and went to bed rather early.
Pictures:
Like our trip to Pompeii, we decided to take the same charter bus to Florence. It was about a 4 and a half hour drive out to Florence, and like before, I slept most of the time, although I did read a bit here and there.
We finally arrived in Florence at around 12:30 and immediately set out in search of several churches that we'd be visiting that day. I don't really know what the name of the first church we visited was, but as usual, it was very large and very impressive. It was odd though, all of the churches in Florence seemed to be going under some kind of renovation. They all had scaffolding somewhere inside our outside.
The second church we went to was the Duomo and this one was amazing. Most of the church was relatively normal, but the dome inside was the most amazing part. It was the largest dome ever created since the Pantheon and it is absolutely enormous. On the inside, you can see scenes from Dante's Inferno painted all around it. Later that day, we even went up to the top where you can stand inside right next to giant frescoes. We also went outside to the very top of the dome. This view was absolutely breaktaking. Luckily it was very sunny that day and from the top of the duomo we got a great view of the whole of Florence.
After the duomo, we went to the Academia Gallery to look at Michelangelo's David, among other pieces of art. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the gallery, but being there was enough. It's amazing how much detail was put into that single statue and how extraordinarily lifelike it is. Looking at that sculpture alone, you can see why Michelangelo is considered one of the greatest artists.
After the gallery, it was time to leave Florence. Many of us were disappointed because we didn't get nearly as much time for shopping as we had hoped. I, myself, had planned on doing most of my Christmas shopping in Florence since Florence is supposed to be the city for shopping. But we got on the bus and had to leave. We got back to Rome around 9 or so and I was, again, very tired and went to bed rather early.
Pictures:
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| From Rome '08 |
Tuesday, December 16
Tuesday was the Borghese Musem and the dinner with Dean Newrock.
We met up at 9:30 to leave for the Borhese Museum and this was probably one of the worst days of the trip.
So apparently, we didn't know exactly where the museum was, just the general idea, at least that's what I can guess from the amount of walking we did that day. But yeah, we walked and we walked looking for this museum. I would say we walked for at least an hour just looking for this museum. Oh and it was raining the entire time. Raining hard. And of course I forgot my umbrella back in the room. Up until this point, it had only lightly drizzled a little bit each day. But on Tuesday, for whatever reason, it decided to rain really hard for a long time. Luckily, I was wearing a water proof coat so I didn't get completely drenched.
Finally we got to the museum and thank god it was heated in there. It was also cold and raining during our little expedition. So we were able to warm up a little and eventually we went into the museum. It came with these head sets that we were able to put in one ear and then tune in to one person that had the microphone and they could talk to us about each piece of art that we came across without having to shout. Unfortunately, reception wasn't very good and if you wandered too far, all you heard was a bunch of static. So most of us eventually abandoned the headsets.
Other than the whole cold, wet, walk to the museum and then the failed headsets, the Borghese Museum was one of my favorite places that we went to. Apparently, it used to be some wealthy families house and when the family died out or they gave away their stuff, they had so many priceless artifacts that they were able to turn it into a museum. There were a whole bunch of impressive paintings a sculptures inside the museum. Two of the most impressive, as well as my favorite, were the sculptures of "The Rape of Persephone" and "Apollo and Daphne" by Bernini.
Once we were done with the museum, we were given the rest of the day to ourselves. A bunch of us wanted to check out the Vatican City, so that's where we went. When we got there however, some people wanted to go into the museum, whereas others wanted to go on Friday so that we could spend as much time as we wanted in there. I was in the "whereas others" group so we just went into St. Peter's Basilica. Although the basilica is given the title "the world's largest church" you have to see it with your own eyes to even begin to comprehend its size.
It is absolutely giant and it's unbelievable how ornate it is. Even though it's incredibly large, there is not a square inch left unadorned. The opulence that resides in that building is unimaginable. So we spent a few hours wandering around in there, but eventually headed back to the hotel to meet up for dinner.
Dinner with Dean Newrock was at a very, very nice restaurant called the Otto Mezzo. It was a relatively short walk to get there and thankfully it had stopped raining. But there we had the best meal I had throughout the whole trip. We had a huge five course meal with some meatball-things, pasta with white sauce, pasta with red sauce, lamb, and desert. At the end of the meal, the professors had us try a drink called grappa and it's supposed to be fermented from the seeds of grapes and very alcoholic. It was definitely very strong and I wouldn't say very good.
After dinner, I went back to the hotel and pretty much went to sleep right away.
Pictures:
We met up at 9:30 to leave for the Borhese Museum and this was probably one of the worst days of the trip.
So apparently, we didn't know exactly where the museum was, just the general idea, at least that's what I can guess from the amount of walking we did that day. But yeah, we walked and we walked looking for this museum. I would say we walked for at least an hour just looking for this museum. Oh and it was raining the entire time. Raining hard. And of course I forgot my umbrella back in the room. Up until this point, it had only lightly drizzled a little bit each day. But on Tuesday, for whatever reason, it decided to rain really hard for a long time. Luckily, I was wearing a water proof coat so I didn't get completely drenched.
Finally we got to the museum and thank god it was heated in there. It was also cold and raining during our little expedition. So we were able to warm up a little and eventually we went into the museum. It came with these head sets that we were able to put in one ear and then tune in to one person that had the microphone and they could talk to us about each piece of art that we came across without having to shout. Unfortunately, reception wasn't very good and if you wandered too far, all you heard was a bunch of static. So most of us eventually abandoned the headsets.
Other than the whole cold, wet, walk to the museum and then the failed headsets, the Borghese Museum was one of my favorite places that we went to. Apparently, it used to be some wealthy families house and when the family died out or they gave away their stuff, they had so many priceless artifacts that they were able to turn it into a museum. There were a whole bunch of impressive paintings a sculptures inside the museum. Two of the most impressive, as well as my favorite, were the sculptures of "The Rape of Persephone" and "Apollo and Daphne" by Bernini.
Once we were done with the museum, we were given the rest of the day to ourselves. A bunch of us wanted to check out the Vatican City, so that's where we went. When we got there however, some people wanted to go into the museum, whereas others wanted to go on Friday so that we could spend as much time as we wanted in there. I was in the "whereas others" group so we just went into St. Peter's Basilica. Although the basilica is given the title "the world's largest church" you have to see it with your own eyes to even begin to comprehend its size.
It is absolutely giant and it's unbelievable how ornate it is. Even though it's incredibly large, there is not a square inch left unadorned. The opulence that resides in that building is unimaginable. So we spent a few hours wandering around in there, but eventually headed back to the hotel to meet up for dinner.
Dinner with Dean Newrock was at a very, very nice restaurant called the Otto Mezzo. It was a relatively short walk to get there and thankfully it had stopped raining. But there we had the best meal I had throughout the whole trip. We had a huge five course meal with some meatball-things, pasta with white sauce, pasta with red sauce, lamb, and desert. At the end of the meal, the professors had us try a drink called grappa and it's supposed to be fermented from the seeds of grapes and very alcoholic. It was definitely very strong and I wouldn't say very good.
After dinner, I went back to the hotel and pretty much went to sleep right away.
Pictures:
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| From Rome '08 |
Monday, December 15
Monday was our day in Pompeii.
We met on the 6th floor of the hotel in the morning and got ready to head off to Pompeii. The ruins of Pompeii are near the city of Naples which is about 3 hours away so we rented a charter bus for the day and took that there.
The drive there was rather uneventful, I slept just about the entire way. I do remember at one of the stops, however, that Molly decided to hide in the overhead storage and jumped out and scared George when he was going around and counting everyone. Once we started moving again, I went back to sleep.
It seemed like it was going to be a miserable day in Pompeii: it had rained during the entire bus ride to Pompeii. But by some miracle, as soon as we got there it stopped raining. Most of the group ate lunch at this one place that the bus parked right next to, but me and several others wanted to eat for a little bit cheaper so we walked down the street and found a place that did cost a little less. The food there was okay, nothing to write home about.
But after lunch, we went into the ruins and met up with our tour guide. He was very, very informative. He really had a lot to say on just about everything we walked by, and there was definitely a lot to talk about.
I'd have to say that of all the sites we went to, Pompeii was my favorite. Because it was so well preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, you can truly get a sense of what life was like almost 2,000 years ago. All the buildings, the walls, the streets are in great shape and it's really a city out of the past. The only thing that's missing are the people. You can still see grooves in the streets from the chariots that used to drive down the road. They actually restored one of the houses in Pompeii to give visitors a feel of what it would have looked like and this was absolutely amazing. I don't actually know how much restoration was done, but I don't think there was too much. I think the tiled floors were original and the frescoes on the walls. I think most of the stuff that was redone was the roof and upper walls, and some of the doorways that were reinforced.
After our tour was done, we left Pompeii at around 4:30 or so and headed back to Rome. Like before, I slept just about the entire way back.
Even though I had gotten all that sleep on the bus ride, I was still very tired from all the travel and went to bed early that night.
Pictures:
We met on the 6th floor of the hotel in the morning and got ready to head off to Pompeii. The ruins of Pompeii are near the city of Naples which is about 3 hours away so we rented a charter bus for the day and took that there.
The drive there was rather uneventful, I slept just about the entire way. I do remember at one of the stops, however, that Molly decided to hide in the overhead storage and jumped out and scared George when he was going around and counting everyone. Once we started moving again, I went back to sleep.
It seemed like it was going to be a miserable day in Pompeii: it had rained during the entire bus ride to Pompeii. But by some miracle, as soon as we got there it stopped raining. Most of the group ate lunch at this one place that the bus parked right next to, but me and several others wanted to eat for a little bit cheaper so we walked down the street and found a place that did cost a little less. The food there was okay, nothing to write home about.
But after lunch, we went into the ruins and met up with our tour guide. He was very, very informative. He really had a lot to say on just about everything we walked by, and there was definitely a lot to talk about.
I'd have to say that of all the sites we went to, Pompeii was my favorite. Because it was so well preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, you can truly get a sense of what life was like almost 2,000 years ago. All the buildings, the walls, the streets are in great shape and it's really a city out of the past. The only thing that's missing are the people. You can still see grooves in the streets from the chariots that used to drive down the road. They actually restored one of the houses in Pompeii to give visitors a feel of what it would have looked like and this was absolutely amazing. I don't actually know how much restoration was done, but I don't think there was too much. I think the tiled floors were original and the frescoes on the walls. I think most of the stuff that was redone was the roof and upper walls, and some of the doorways that were reinforced.
After our tour was done, we left Pompeii at around 4:30 or so and headed back to Rome. Like before, I slept just about the entire way back.
Even though I had gotten all that sleep on the bus ride, I was still very tired from all the travel and went to bed early that night.
Pictures:
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| From Rome '08 |
Sunday, December 14th
Today, we were going to visit the Colosseum, the Forum, Palatino, and the various fountains in Rome.
My group was responsible for the Colosseum and so we had to lead the way there. Fortunately, it was only one stop before the Circus Maximus and so we took the same route as the day before, but got off at the station named "Colosseo".
As soon as we got out, just like before, we were right in front of the Colosseum and it nearly hit us in the face. There was actually some sort of Santa Race going on in the street right in front of us. We weren't sure what that was all about, but a bunch of people dressed up in Santa costumes we congregating around a starting line. We weren't able to watch the race however, because we had a tour scheduled and we were almost late already.
We got in line to get into the Colosseum and we were able to use our archeaology cards, except a few people forgot theirs so we had a little trouble getting them through, but eventually everyone got in. Due to some kind of mix-up, we didn't actually have the tour guide that was scheduled on our itinerary and so my group was responsible for giving the tour. This didn't turn out so good since we had made our presentation over 2 months ago and we couldn't quite remember all of the facts as clearly as we had. Although I had brought all of my research with me, I didn't bring it on the trip to the Colosseum because I thought we were going to have the guide. But in any case, we walked through the Colosseum and took all of our pictures. I don't think it was that big of a deal that we weren't able to convey that much information because we only knew as much as we could read and it's not the same as having been to the Colosseum and learning about it while looking at it. And also, the Colosseum is such a famous structure that just about everybody knows at least something about it.
But after the Colosseum we were given a little time to ourselves for lunch and we were going to meet outside the Arch of Constantine and head over to the Forum and Palatino. I can't remember who I was with that afternoon, but we found a small Gelateria and had some ice cream and that was pretty much my lunch for the day. I always made sure to eat a large breakfast.
So we all met up around 2 and headed over to the Palatino. This is the place where the mythical Romulus is said to have founded Rome. The palace is located here and it's right next to the Forum. The Forum truthfully consists of a bunch of old marble ruins laying all over the place with a few columns still standing here and there. There really aren't too many whole structures left. And I really am not sure how they can figure out what pile of ruins is a basilica and what ruble is a temple. I think most of it is guesswork, but in any case, you're still looking at 2,000 year old ruins and it's still fairly impressive.
We spent a while in the forum and in the palace and our tour guides were very informative. There were a ton of buildings left and it was amazing that they remembered and were even able to identify as many as they could. But eventually, we were done for the day and we were given the evening to do whatever we wanted.
I can't quite remember what I did that night, but I'm pretty sure me and some other people wandered around for a bit. I think I want to the Trevi Fountain, which was very impressive, especially at night. But finally, I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
Pictures:
My group was responsible for the Colosseum and so we had to lead the way there. Fortunately, it was only one stop before the Circus Maximus and so we took the same route as the day before, but got off at the station named "Colosseo".
As soon as we got out, just like before, we were right in front of the Colosseum and it nearly hit us in the face. There was actually some sort of Santa Race going on in the street right in front of us. We weren't sure what that was all about, but a bunch of people dressed up in Santa costumes we congregating around a starting line. We weren't able to watch the race however, because we had a tour scheduled and we were almost late already.
We got in line to get into the Colosseum and we were able to use our archeaology cards, except a few people forgot theirs so we had a little trouble getting them through, but eventually everyone got in. Due to some kind of mix-up, we didn't actually have the tour guide that was scheduled on our itinerary and so my group was responsible for giving the tour. This didn't turn out so good since we had made our presentation over 2 months ago and we couldn't quite remember all of the facts as clearly as we had. Although I had brought all of my research with me, I didn't bring it on the trip to the Colosseum because I thought we were going to have the guide. But in any case, we walked through the Colosseum and took all of our pictures. I don't think it was that big of a deal that we weren't able to convey that much information because we only knew as much as we could read and it's not the same as having been to the Colosseum and learning about it while looking at it. And also, the Colosseum is such a famous structure that just about everybody knows at least something about it.
But after the Colosseum we were given a little time to ourselves for lunch and we were going to meet outside the Arch of Constantine and head over to the Forum and Palatino. I can't remember who I was with that afternoon, but we found a small Gelateria and had some ice cream and that was pretty much my lunch for the day. I always made sure to eat a large breakfast.
So we all met up around 2 and headed over to the Palatino. This is the place where the mythical Romulus is said to have founded Rome. The palace is located here and it's right next to the Forum. The Forum truthfully consists of a bunch of old marble ruins laying all over the place with a few columns still standing here and there. There really aren't too many whole structures left. And I really am not sure how they can figure out what pile of ruins is a basilica and what ruble is a temple. I think most of it is guesswork, but in any case, you're still looking at 2,000 year old ruins and it's still fairly impressive.
We spent a while in the forum and in the palace and our tour guides were very informative. There were a ton of buildings left and it was amazing that they remembered and were even able to identify as many as they could. But eventually, we were done for the day and we were given the evening to do whatever we wanted.
I can't quite remember what I did that night, but I'm pretty sure me and some other people wandered around for a bit. I think I want to the Trevi Fountain, which was very impressive, especially at night. But finally, I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
Pictures:
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| From Rome '08 |
Saturday, December 13
Today we had a ton of stuff planned and we were going to be very busy.
The hotel had a complimentary breakfast every morning that was very, very nice. They had croissants and rolls, jelly and nutella, oranges, yogurt, corn flakes, and pretty much any kind of coffee-like drink you asked for (latte, cappacino, etc.).
So at 8:30 we met up on the 6th floor to set out on our day. The first thing we had on our agenda was the Circus Maximus. For each site that we visited, the group that researched that particular topic was responsible for telling us all about it while we were there, as well as guide us from our hotel to the site. So Group 3 got the pleasure of leading first. It was actually pretty simple: you just got on the Metro, switched from Line A to Line B at Termini, and then took it to Circo Massimo (I think that's what it was called).
We got there in no time at all, and as soon as we walked out of the subway, you were right in front of the Circus Maximus. I was always amazed at our integrated the old and the new was in Rome, such as how close the Metro was to these ancient structures. We walked around the Circus Maximus for a little while and took some pictures. There really isn't that much left to tell the truth. There are a couple crumbling stuctures still standing on the one side, but other than that, it's just a giant gravel track. I had expected a bit more such as some stands remaining or what have you. But nevertheless, it was still very impressive.
There was a hill on the one side of the Circus Maximus and me and a few others decided to climb to the top. From there you could get a really good view of Palatine Hill in the background and it was really a pretty vista.
After the Circus Maximus, we marched on over to the Theater Marcellus. I don't think there were any Metro stations near it so we walked. It wasn't too far and on the way we were able to see a bunch of old ruins here and there, although we didn't really know what they were.
When we got to the Theater, I was a little unimpressed by it. There were only a few arches left of the theater, and you could only see them from the one side. The modern Romans had actually built apartments right into the theater. Sitting right on top of these 2,000 year old arches, we modern windows and balconies. Like I said before, I was amazed at how integrated the new and the old was.
At this point, our group got a little split up and we wandered here and there so I didn't really get any information on the Theater Marcellus.
Our next stop were the Baths of Caracalla. When we first got there, we were a little confused: we saw an arch that said Baths of Caracalla, but when we walked through, there was a track inside with high jump and pole vault and all that stuff. We could definitely tell that we were in the wrong place, especially from all the dirty looks we were getting from the people that were practicing. So we backtracked a bit and eventually found the real baths.
At the entrance we obtained our "Archeaology Cards" which granted us access to several different sites around Rome. So we walked around a bit and took some pictures, and let me tell you, these baths were enormous. It was just amazing how large something as simple as a public bath could be. The arches that were still left had to be at least a couple hundred feet tall. And everything that was left was only made of brick, it's just unbelievable to imagine that everything would have been sheathed in marble at one point.
After we were done with the Baths of Caracalla, we made our way to the Pantheon. Unfortunately, there weren't any Metro stations near by and the best way to get there was by foot. We wandered through the twisting streets for a while and we finally go there after a while. I have to say, I think that the Pantheon is one of the most amazing structures still left from Ancient Rome. Because the church technically owns it, they have preserved and refurbished it over the years and it looks very much like it would have when it was built in 125 AD.
My group was responsible for talking about the Pantheon and so we split up, each of us taking a small group of people and explaining the various facts about this ancient structure. After that, we just wandered around and took some pictures. Unfortunately, I ended up taking too many pictures and lost everyone else. Luckily, the professors hadn't left that, so I stuck with them for the rest of the day.
So I followed the professors for the rest of the day and we ended up going to the Piazza Navona. Here they had some sort of festival going on for Christmas. I think somebody said that it lasts about 3 weeks in December and then the first week of January, but in any case, they had all these booths set up with candy and games and everything you could think of. They even had a merry-go-round in the middle. So we wandered around there for a bit, looking at the various items they were selling. In the center of the Piazza though, they had a giant fountain with a huge Egyptian Obelisk in the center. I don't really know why, but for whatever reason, this was my favorite fountain. I liked it even better than the famous Trevi Fountain.
Eventually, we headed back to the hotel and there I was able to find everyone else again. A couple of us wandered around Rome for a bit that night, going to the Spanish Steps and what not. But we didn't really do anything significant and eventually turned in for the night.
Pictures:
The hotel had a complimentary breakfast every morning that was very, very nice. They had croissants and rolls, jelly and nutella, oranges, yogurt, corn flakes, and pretty much any kind of coffee-like drink you asked for (latte, cappacino, etc.).
So at 8:30 we met up on the 6th floor to set out on our day. The first thing we had on our agenda was the Circus Maximus. For each site that we visited, the group that researched that particular topic was responsible for telling us all about it while we were there, as well as guide us from our hotel to the site. So Group 3 got the pleasure of leading first. It was actually pretty simple: you just got on the Metro, switched from Line A to Line B at Termini, and then took it to Circo Massimo (I think that's what it was called).
We got there in no time at all, and as soon as we walked out of the subway, you were right in front of the Circus Maximus. I was always amazed at our integrated the old and the new was in Rome, such as how close the Metro was to these ancient structures. We walked around the Circus Maximus for a little while and took some pictures. There really isn't that much left to tell the truth. There are a couple crumbling stuctures still standing on the one side, but other than that, it's just a giant gravel track. I had expected a bit more such as some stands remaining or what have you. But nevertheless, it was still very impressive.
There was a hill on the one side of the Circus Maximus and me and a few others decided to climb to the top. From there you could get a really good view of Palatine Hill in the background and it was really a pretty vista.
After the Circus Maximus, we marched on over to the Theater Marcellus. I don't think there were any Metro stations near it so we walked. It wasn't too far and on the way we were able to see a bunch of old ruins here and there, although we didn't really know what they were.
When we got to the Theater, I was a little unimpressed by it. There were only a few arches left of the theater, and you could only see them from the one side. The modern Romans had actually built apartments right into the theater. Sitting right on top of these 2,000 year old arches, we modern windows and balconies. Like I said before, I was amazed at how integrated the new and the old was.
At this point, our group got a little split up and we wandered here and there so I didn't really get any information on the Theater Marcellus.
Our next stop were the Baths of Caracalla. When we first got there, we were a little confused: we saw an arch that said Baths of Caracalla, but when we walked through, there was a track inside with high jump and pole vault and all that stuff. We could definitely tell that we were in the wrong place, especially from all the dirty looks we were getting from the people that were practicing. So we backtracked a bit and eventually found the real baths.
At the entrance we obtained our "Archeaology Cards" which granted us access to several different sites around Rome. So we walked around a bit and took some pictures, and let me tell you, these baths were enormous. It was just amazing how large something as simple as a public bath could be. The arches that were still left had to be at least a couple hundred feet tall. And everything that was left was only made of brick, it's just unbelievable to imagine that everything would have been sheathed in marble at one point.
After we were done with the Baths of Caracalla, we made our way to the Pantheon. Unfortunately, there weren't any Metro stations near by and the best way to get there was by foot. We wandered through the twisting streets for a while and we finally go there after a while. I have to say, I think that the Pantheon is one of the most amazing structures still left from Ancient Rome. Because the church technically owns it, they have preserved and refurbished it over the years and it looks very much like it would have when it was built in 125 AD.
My group was responsible for talking about the Pantheon and so we split up, each of us taking a small group of people and explaining the various facts about this ancient structure. After that, we just wandered around and took some pictures. Unfortunately, I ended up taking too many pictures and lost everyone else. Luckily, the professors hadn't left that, so I stuck with them for the rest of the day.
So I followed the professors for the rest of the day and we ended up going to the Piazza Navona. Here they had some sort of festival going on for Christmas. I think somebody said that it lasts about 3 weeks in December and then the first week of January, but in any case, they had all these booths set up with candy and games and everything you could think of. They even had a merry-go-round in the middle. So we wandered around there for a bit, looking at the various items they were selling. In the center of the Piazza though, they had a giant fountain with a huge Egyptian Obelisk in the center. I don't really know why, but for whatever reason, this was my favorite fountain. I liked it even better than the famous Trevi Fountain.
Eventually, we headed back to the hotel and there I was able to find everyone else again. A couple of us wandered around Rome for a bit that night, going to the Spanish Steps and what not. But we didn't really do anything significant and eventually turned in for the night.
Pictures:
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| From Rome '08 |
Friday, December 12
We landed in Roma at about 10 in the morning. Apparently, Molly had flown in from somewhere else and had already landed at the airport and so we were supposed to meet her near the baggage. Well, something went wrong and needless to say we never found her, but we could let that little hiccup ruin our trip, so we pressed onward.
Once we got all our baggage, we had to go through with our passports. If you ask me, the security was a little lacking. I don't even think the Italian official looked at where I was from, he simply opened it up, stamped some random page and then asked for the next person. After that we had to purchase a train ticket that would take us to the center of the city and then buy a Metro pas which would allow us to take the subway to our hotel. Of course no one spoke Italian very well so it took a while to purchase all of our tickets, but eventually we got them and boarded the train. The train was rather crowded when we got on, a few of us, including myself, had to stand for the half hour ride in.
On the train ride, we were able to call Molly and found out that she had been waiting at a different baggage claim or something. So we told her how to get a train ticket and metro pas and how to get to the hotel and that we'd meet her later that afternoon.
So the train dropped us off at the Termini, which is where the two subway lines, A and B, cross, and from there we boarded the subway to our hotel. It was incredibly crowded in the Termini, there were people everywhere. The subway dropped us off relatively close to our hotel, and from there we were able to walk and drag our luggage.
Our hotel was called the Cinquantatre and it was this little tiny place squeezed in between two buildings. Although it looked very small on the outside, it was very, very nice and had plenty of room for all of us. I was very impressed at how nice it was, I didn't think we would get anything like that at all. Once we all got settled in, we had the rest of the day to really wander around and do whatever we wanted.
A few of us were starving so we decided to find somewhere to eat. Abby, Phil, Brian, Michelle, and myself wandered around for a little bit looking for a good place. Eventually, we settled on a small Ristorante on the sidewalk. It was really nothing more than a glass box and was a sort of extenstion of the restaurant onto the sidewalk. But the food was really good and we had a nice meal.
For the rest of the day, we pretty much wandered around for a little bit. We came across some churches that I will never remember the name of and some fountains. We also found the Spanish Steps which were really close to our hotel, so we hung out there for little bit, meandering through all the little shops that were around it.
Eventually, we went back to the hotel and turned in for the night. I played some card games and such with some people up on the 6th floor for a bit, but after a while, jetlag got the best of me and I had to go to sleep.
Pictures:
Once we got all our baggage, we had to go through with our passports. If you ask me, the security was a little lacking. I don't even think the Italian official looked at where I was from, he simply opened it up, stamped some random page and then asked for the next person. After that we had to purchase a train ticket that would take us to the center of the city and then buy a Metro pas which would allow us to take the subway to our hotel. Of course no one spoke Italian very well so it took a while to purchase all of our tickets, but eventually we got them and boarded the train. The train was rather crowded when we got on, a few of us, including myself, had to stand for the half hour ride in.
On the train ride, we were able to call Molly and found out that she had been waiting at a different baggage claim or something. So we told her how to get a train ticket and metro pas and how to get to the hotel and that we'd meet her later that afternoon.
So the train dropped us off at the Termini, which is where the two subway lines, A and B, cross, and from there we boarded the subway to our hotel. It was incredibly crowded in the Termini, there were people everywhere. The subway dropped us off relatively close to our hotel, and from there we were able to walk and drag our luggage.
Our hotel was called the Cinquantatre and it was this little tiny place squeezed in between two buildings. Although it looked very small on the outside, it was very, very nice and had plenty of room for all of us. I was very impressed at how nice it was, I didn't think we would get anything like that at all. Once we all got settled in, we had the rest of the day to really wander around and do whatever we wanted.
A few of us were starving so we decided to find somewhere to eat. Abby, Phil, Brian, Michelle, and myself wandered around for a little bit looking for a good place. Eventually, we settled on a small Ristorante on the sidewalk. It was really nothing more than a glass box and was a sort of extenstion of the restaurant onto the sidewalk. But the food was really good and we had a nice meal.
For the rest of the day, we pretty much wandered around for a little bit. We came across some churches that I will never remember the name of and some fountains. We also found the Spanish Steps which were really close to our hotel, so we hung out there for little bit, meandering through all the little shops that were around it.
Eventually, we went back to the hotel and turned in for the night. I played some card games and such with some people up on the 6th floor for a bit, but after a while, jetlag got the best of me and I had to go to sleep.
Pictures:
 |
| From Rome '08 |
Thursday, December 11
Well it was finally time for the trip everyone was waiting for, Rome.
I woke up at around 5 am, about 3 hours earlier than I had planned. That always happens when I get nervous for some big trip or vacation. But luckily this gave me a little extra time for packing. Since I live in Cleveland and the dorms were going to be locked up by the time we got back from Rome, I had to make sure to pack everything I would need for the trip and all of the things I would need at home over the rest of Winter break.
Like I said, I live in Cleveland, and since I'm a freshman, I didn't have a car, so I had to find a ride to the airport that morning. Luckily, Abby was able to offer me a ride so that worked out very well. The trip to the airport didn't go so well. Before we left, OneStop had called Abby and said that she had to stop in before she left because the needed to confirm something. After that was done, we were running just a little late, but then we got on the highway. Traffic was significantly worse than we had planned for. It took us way longer to get to the airport than we thought and so of course by the time we got there, we were the last ones there and everyone was just sitting right inside the terminal waiting for us. A great way to start off a trip.
Going through the aiport and security was no problem. I can't remember anything eventful happening on the way. We grabbed a little food before our flight left at 1:30 and played a couple card games to pass the time. Eventually, we boarded the plane and it was time to leave. It was a relatively short flight to Atlanta, where we'd be making our connection to Rome.
We had a short layover which wasn't too bad, and again, boarded our next flight without a problem. The flight to Rome wasn't too horrible, a little bit of turbulence here and there, but nothing too bad. It was about a 9 or 10 hours flight and I slept most of the way.
By the time we landed in Roma, it was Friday...
I woke up at around 5 am, about 3 hours earlier than I had planned. That always happens when I get nervous for some big trip or vacation. But luckily this gave me a little extra time for packing. Since I live in Cleveland and the dorms were going to be locked up by the time we got back from Rome, I had to make sure to pack everything I would need for the trip and all of the things I would need at home over the rest of Winter break.
Like I said, I live in Cleveland, and since I'm a freshman, I didn't have a car, so I had to find a ride to the airport that morning. Luckily, Abby was able to offer me a ride so that worked out very well. The trip to the airport didn't go so well. Before we left, OneStop had called Abby and said that she had to stop in before she left because the needed to confirm something. After that was done, we were running just a little late, but then we got on the highway. Traffic was significantly worse than we had planned for. It took us way longer to get to the airport than we thought and so of course by the time we got there, we were the last ones there and everyone was just sitting right inside the terminal waiting for us. A great way to start off a trip.
Going through the aiport and security was no problem. I can't remember anything eventful happening on the way. We grabbed a little food before our flight left at 1:30 and played a couple card games to pass the time. Eventually, we boarded the plane and it was time to leave. It was a relatively short flight to Atlanta, where we'd be making our connection to Rome.
We had a short layover which wasn't too bad, and again, boarded our next flight without a problem. The flight to Rome wasn't too horrible, a little bit of turbulence here and there, but nothing too bad. It was about a 9 or 10 hours flight and I slept most of the way.
By the time we landed in Roma, it was Friday...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
PBL 2 - Reflection
The second time around, I think our group did much, much better in our presentation.
I believe that it really started with our brainstorming process. For the first PBL we pretty much jumped straight to PowerPoint as a means of making our presentation. We completely overlooked any alternatives that we may have been able to use. This time around, however, we made sure to carefully and deliberately think of different mediums that we could use. We listed all of our ideas, no matter how outrageous they might have seemed, and then began our selection process to choose our final presentation format. I really think that this made a big difference.
We ended up choosing to do a skit in which to present our ideas, since our PBL was that we were to establish a committee. As we progressed, our "skit idea" started to change a bit. Because our first presentations were so long, we were going to have to stick closer to our 20 minute time limit. Since we were going to do a skit, we came up with the idea of taping it, this way it would ensure that we stayed within the time constraints as well as allows to cut and edit our best performers and eliminate a lot of stage fright that presenting in front of your peers can induce.
This eventually evolved into our final taped skit/live report which can be viewed below. For this we decided to combine pre-recorded footage with a live "field reporter" that would interact with the video. This way, we were able to keep the presentation moving rather than just have the audience watch a single video the whole time.
In the end, the presentation was much, much better. I felt we were able to convey many of the important facts pertaining to the Pantheon as well as present them in an entertaining fashion. The one thing that I feel our presentation lacked was pictures. I felt that people would get a better idea of the Pantheon if they saw some pictures of what we talked about in our presentation. We able include some pictures, but not quite as many as I think could have been helpful. But yes, I think the final result was a success.
I believe that it really started with our brainstorming process. For the first PBL we pretty much jumped straight to PowerPoint as a means of making our presentation. We completely overlooked any alternatives that we may have been able to use. This time around, however, we made sure to carefully and deliberately think of different mediums that we could use. We listed all of our ideas, no matter how outrageous they might have seemed, and then began our selection process to choose our final presentation format. I really think that this made a big difference.
We ended up choosing to do a skit in which to present our ideas, since our PBL was that we were to establish a committee. As we progressed, our "skit idea" started to change a bit. Because our first presentations were so long, we were going to have to stick closer to our 20 minute time limit. Since we were going to do a skit, we came up with the idea of taping it, this way it would ensure that we stayed within the time constraints as well as allows to cut and edit our best performers and eliminate a lot of stage fright that presenting in front of your peers can induce.
This eventually evolved into our final taped skit/live report which can be viewed below. For this we decided to combine pre-recorded footage with a live "field reporter" that would interact with the video. This way, we were able to keep the presentation moving rather than just have the audience watch a single video the whole time.
In the end, the presentation was much, much better. I felt we were able to convey many of the important facts pertaining to the Pantheon as well as present them in an entertaining fashion. The one thing that I feel our presentation lacked was pictures. I felt that people would get a better idea of the Pantheon if they saw some pictures of what we talked about in our presentation. We able include some pictures, but not quite as many as I think could have been helpful. But yes, I think the final result was a success.
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