Roaming Around in Rome Part One
- Jessica Mendoza
- Apr 9, 2016
- 4 min read
Part of the Study Abroad Program of French Culture By Immersion granted the students about three free days to visit anywhere we want in Europe (so long as it is affordable, of course). The whole group was given a choice between Florence, Venice, or Rome. While all options were very enticing, we all made a unanimous choice to visit Rome, because, well if you are going to visit Italy for three days, you might as well go BIG! Although I was partial in choosing to visit Florence to witness the Duomo of Filippo Brunelleschi, I opted for Rome because it was less expensive and it offers a deal of places to visit. The three days I spent in Rome was a whirlwind of experiences, where do I even begin?
First of all, it only takes an hour to fly from Nice to Rome, something I was unaware of. By the time we landed in Rome time was already creeping to midnight, which makes it that much more magical. But the thing is, I was sick at the time we flew so the plane ride made me feel much worse. Packed with antibiotics, cough drops, and concerned professors, I looked forward to Rome curing my illness.
The night we arrived, it was late and everything was about to close up, but we all decided to check-in our rooms and meet downstairs to grab food. Walking around Rome at night was bizarre, everything was sparked with life. People were out with groups of friends, partying, conversing in out-seating restaurants. It was wonderful, just like how I dreamt it would be! The challenge of finding an open restaurant was exciting and it was only destiny that brought us to a restaurant that is going to be one of my favorites!
We stumbled upon Cucina Grazia & Graziella, in Trastevere. Although about to close, the restaurant gave us seats and cooked up some delicious Margherita, Three Cheese, and many more pizza! I was in Pizza Heaven and loving it. Now, being in France and Italy are completely different experiences. While I could speak and understand a bit of French, the only words I know in Italian are "grazie" meaning "thank you," and "buona notte" meaning "good night." It was definitely a different learning experience. The restaurant was so hospitable and charming, the waitress who served us entertained my tourist attempts of speaking Italian. Thankfully, our group had two Italian speaking professors who made it easier to close the bridge between Italian and English the language. After filling our now-pizza-filled stomachs, we continued walking around the narrow streets of Trastevere looking for our new prey, gelato.
Oh, gelato! The love of my life. I have never tasted anything better than pistachio gelato in Rome. It might have been my enchantment with the city, but my tastebuds celebrated that first fateful meeting and the rest just follows. I think the average gelato I have eaten in the three days I stayed in Italy was 4-5 per day. No kidding. Even now, I keep going back to that blissful taste and creamy, heavenly texture...
Besides the great food, Rome offers a wide opportunity to visit history, it's in every square inch I could turn! The next day was spent walking frantically to and fro famous monuments like the Pantheon. Our first stop was the church in Piazza di Santa Maria of Trastevere. The church was magnificent and very old, it's facade is covered by many tomb stones of people who have come and passed. Seeing it's interior was so shocking, the high ceiling and golden beauty of the basilica was enlivening. In order to experience the church wholly, I sat in the back, the middle and front aisles and visited the mini chapels surrounding it as well. A custom I acquired in Europe was lighting a candle in memory of my grandfather in each church I visited, which I made sure not to forget here.
The church was and is beautiful in many splendid ways.
Seeing the Pantheon was something I never dreamed up. I just did not see it as a possibility. There are no words enough to describe how I felt to stand in front of a monument which inspired my own idol, Brunelleschi and many others! I was beyond belief starstruck. When I went inside there was a coolness in the air even though it was packed by old people who pushed each other (haha, for real!). The first thing I noticed was the oculus, a large hole in the ceiling that kept track of the sun. Then I looked to my eye level and saw gourds of people scattered all around. My art history professor told me the floor of the Pantheon was slightly diagonal, it was so subtle that one could not have detected it without knowing the information. In fact, this information answered my internal question, what happens when it rains? The slight convex of the floor allowing the water to drain away! How intelligent is that?! Another bit of information I learned in the Pantheon was that it is the final resting place of a famous Renaissance painter, Raphael. I will talk about Raphael in a separate post on the Vatican city and include my favorite painting of his, The School of Athens.
On the same day, our group attempted to visit San Luigi dei Francesi, the church where my professors were married and houses three of Caravaggio's paintings. It was unfortunate that the only day we could visit the church, it was closed. But that only means I have to go visit another time!
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