Rome, Italy

Been soo busy lately! Back in Cork now, but needing to update my blog with a lot of information:

Arrived in Rome on Friday, the 16th of April and left for London, England on Wendesday, the 20th of April. Stayed with two friends from Wheaton who are studying abroad there, Pablo and Chris. We headed to their apartment and relaxed from our day of traveling. For dinner, we bought some Italian pizza and a suppli (which is delicious!). We met up with some of their friends at an Irish pub (they're all over Europe). During my visit, we walked all over Rome. We saw the Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Colonna, Palazzo di Giustizia, Piazza della Repubblica, Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II (The Wedding Cake), Castel Sant'Angelo, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, St. Peter's Basillica, the Vatican Museum, which has the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Square. I met up with a family friend, Tony Forte, who is a priest in Rome who teaches at a school by the Trevi Fountain. We had dinner and walked around the city for a little bit. He told us every little detail about the Trevi fountain. We went to the mass in St. Peter's Square on Sunday that was given by Pope Benedict XVI. We made our own Italian dinner with pasta, tomato sauce, and carbonera. It totaled for about 5 Euro; an extremely cheap and delicious dinner! Tony had taken us to the Vatican on Monday and gave us a great tour with detail you wouldn't find in a book! Such a unique place packed with history. Went to dinner at an Italian family's house that is friends with Tony. Tuesday, I went to the Ardeatine Memorial with Tony. This memorial was about the 135 Italians that were dragged from Rome to an outside village, Aredeatine, and massacred in a cave. The actions were brought on by two communist Italians that threw grenades at passing German troops (killing 33 Nazis). The massacre was Hitler's response. Pope Benedict XVI visited the memorial a few weeks before us. Tuesday night, I went to the Roma vs. Inter game. Italian fans are insane! Flares were shot off from the fans at all points of the game and whenever a Roma player missed a shot, all the fans would kick the seats or glass that was next them. Quite the experience! Definitely going to have to go back to Rome someday because there is too much history to see in 5 days!