Well yesterday was a packed day of activities. The sun was shining and we were ready to tackle the Heart of Rome. We said this was the one day where we weren't going to mind looking and acting like tourists. Katherine brought a Rick Stevens guide book with her that had a map (thank goodness) for a walking tour. We decided we wanted to do a quick run through of all the main spots just to get our bearings so we could go back to them later and spend more time there later. 
We started with the Campo di Fiori where there was a huge open air market with fruits, vegetables, truffle oils, spices, hats, and pretty much anything you could think of. In the center of the Campo is a statue of Giordano Bruno, who I remembered was from Dante's Inferno (thank you Providence Academy and PC) and was placed in one of the circles of Hell. There are also a lot of cute sidewalk cafes and pubs surrounding the Campo. We all beamed when all of a sudden we found a man singing and playing "Volare". At that moment, we felt like such a part of Rome. 
Next stop on our list was the Piazza Navona. In the middle of the Piazza was an incredible fountain created by Bernini. It is one of his most famous pieces and is a representation of four river gods all representing the 4 known continents during his time.
We then stumbled upon Trajan's Column and then moved on to the Pantheon. I was so much more impressed with it than I ever would have thought. The inside was so beautiful and moving. I had no idea that Raphael's tomb was inside! We thought the funniest thing was the men dressed up as gladiators outside. Usually when you see someone dressed like that they like to stay in character but these guys were smoking cigs and chatting on their cell phones. We snuck pics with them because you had to pay.
It is so interesting that all these places are so interconnected and it is so easy to get from one to the next. So then we made our way to La Fountina Trevi. We all tossed our coins and made our wishes and then had a panini lunch.
Then we walked back to the Spanish Steps because our two other room mates had not seen them yet. We also wanted to explore the fancy high-end shops as well. When we were in front of Cartier, my room mate, Danielle, recognized an actor from the TV show Homeland so she went up to him and introduced herself. He was really flattered actually and was nice and seemed very genuine about wanting to talk to us! She later tweeted at him and he tweeted her back twice!
For dinner we went to a place right next to our apartment, Gran Sasso. Christine knows a girl from Providence who lived in our Apartment the year before and she said the restaurant was so good. Its amazing to have such incredible food so close! We ordered Bruschetta and two Pizzas. We then met up with all of our friends from Providence and new friends we met through my roommate Katherine at the apartment in the Piazza Regina Margherita and decided to go to the place we got Gelatti from the other day because at night it turns into a place to go out. It was really fun and we made some Italian friends!
Bacioni
xxxx
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