4. Roma day 1: Michelangelo steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon

Wow!!! What an amazing day! We stepped off the bus and were greeted by an accordion player serenading some diners at a restraint right in front of the Marcellus Theater! The theater was from the 1st century BC, and predated the colosseum. Many believe it was the inspiration for the colosseum.

Then we saw the Michaelanglo steps, which he designed to be wide and incline slowly for horses. At the top of the stairs were statues celebrating the Gemini demi-gods.

We walked to Piazza Venizia in which a gorgeous building was erected in 1931. It is informally named the wedding cake building and pays homage to the goddess, Roma. Many romans dislike the building because it required demolishing part of the ancient Roman forum. It’s a massive building with gorgeous statues, among them, one we saw honoring Poseidon.

We saw the church of the apostles, Roman frescos, and continued in to Trevi Fountain where we wished for our deepest desires: love, fortune, peace. Miss Stamidis wished for grace, as you can tell I am lacking in that department (see photos)

Yummy lunch break for pizza, paninis and gelato!

The pantheon is so incredible! It was built in the 3rd century BC and there is a hole at the top which keeps it intact (called an oculus) and it is one of the largest domes in the world. It means “of all gods” and is a tribute to 12 gods, but became a church after romans became Christian. We saw the tomb of Rafael in there as well!

There are tridents and fish in the details of the Corinthian columns!

The oldest thing in Roma is atop the elephant. It is an obeslick from Egypt and is from 2000 BC.

We all knew Andrew was tall, but almost as tall as a traffic light?!

After a long but incredible day, our dinner was lasagna and tiramisu! Mangia!

One of our amazing students also wrote this about her first day!