Roma

Two weekends ago, AIFS (the program organizing my study abroad trip) arranged a weekend in Rome for the whole program. I loved Rome when we went last summer, so I was excited to see it again without the overwhelming heat and (I hoped) fewer tourists. We got lucky, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the crowds were fairly manageable, at least in comparison to last summer. We saw most of the major sites, with a tour guide this time, which was fun. Our hotel was right in the center of Rome, less than a 5 minute walk to the Trevi Fountain, and with an amazing rooftop view. Though our program only arranged for us to stay 2 nights, a few of us stayed an extra night, which gave us a little more time to explore on our own. 

Trevi Fountain -- on 11/11/11 we all went down and made a wish at 11:11

Coliseum

The Forum

The Pantheon from the outside

Inside of the Pantheon

I was so entranced by the giant bubbles at Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona with my roommates

Campo de' Fiori

We bought each other roses :)

Apparently, the giant pinecone and peacocks have no actual significance, the designers just liked the way they looked together

I loved the map room in the Vatican Museum

Florence map!

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

To give you an idea of how massive this place is, the pen he's holding (that you can barely even see) is 9 feet long. NINE FEET!

That's the same picture...

Altar

Outside St. Peter's Basilica

We made Roman Build-a-Bear animals! Meet Mario, Marcello, and Francesca.

Villa Borghese gardens -- we spent a few hours just strolling through these gorgeous, peaceful gardens. We stumbled upon what apparently was a dog park and watched adorable dogs frolic in the sunshine for a while.

Then, we found this absolutely gorgeous lake surrounded by fall colors.

Me, Jessica, Marie and Jordan

Though I feel that we could have allocated our time better to experience more of the city, on the whole it was a great weekend and I'm really glad I got to see Rome again.