One week in Rome!

Oh man, it's already been one week in Rome and i'm lovin' it so far. I've done so much and there's still so much to do. Today, I woke up early to go with Greenie to do some shopping, plan our Florence trip a little more, and go on the walking tour. The walking tour was great as we went to see Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, and Pantheon. Piazza Navona was interesting because of the fountain (4 rivers = ganges, danube, nile, and rio de plato) Bernini actually built it taking an obelisk from Egypt to symbolize Rome + Egypt's union. Also, we learned about St. Agnes. Trevi Fountain symbolized the power of water, the effects of time on man's buildings, the statues (health and abundance, plus the four seasons placed around the statue of the water god). The aqueducts were built to bring water up to the hills with Trevi being the site of the Acqua Virgene. You're supposed to be surprised by it when walking there. Bernini helped out on this, too. The Pantheon was my favorite. There is so much history in it. First of all it's the temple of temples...from the eye lighting up during the equinox, the square and circle metaphors of earth and heaven (dome = heaven), Bernini taking bronze to build a basilica. Hadrian was the emperor who commissioned it, but he was also an architect. Symbolized = immortality, power of archittecture to build things that will last time, and citizens being able to enter into the temple of God for the first time. Raphael Santi, Victor Emmanuel (father of fatherhoods = pimp), Umberto and his Margherita who made an impression on a Neapolitan chef who threw cheese, tomato, and flour together to create margherita pizza are buried there. What the barbarians couldn't do the barberini emperor did! Romans were the master of concrete and brick since they didn't have stone or granite. Just amazing! Class was good and we got to sing "Bella Ciao!" again...afterwards we had dinner at Terno Seco where the antipasti, vino, and ravioli were really good.

Some cool things fromtoday:

"Ti adoro come pasta con pomodoro!"

"My goal (Caucasian friend) is to have more friends on facebook than an Asian does."

Mullets are in!