friday. 29 january 2010::

February 1st, 2010 § Leave a Comment

5:30 am came dark and early as the alarm buzzed, signaling for me to leaving the warmth of my bed. today was to bring another new and exciting experience for the 21 new orvietianis–we were off to rome. with our cameras, sketchbooks, and rick steves’ guidebooks nestled in our theft-proof bags (at least we hoped), we had our whisper units ready for the call of duty for marco to guide us through the eternal city.

our train arrival in rome was prompt, followed by a quick ride on the underground subway. once we exited the subway and regrouped above grade, we were immediately confronted with an obtrusive object before our eyes: the ancient colosseum (shown above). these ruins stood towering above us as we marveled at the remains of rome’s iconic structure. the day was looking perfect as we set forth on our journey of this historical place with the sun shining and rain clouds out of sight. many wonders were seen as we strolled by the roman forum, the arch of constantine, trajan’s market, capotline hill and the campidoglio, piazza navona, and the pantheon, to name a few. not a single history class with carol, field trip guide by ray streeter, or photo could have prepared us for this day. as we beheld the pantheon, we were impressed and baffled as we were invited to partake of this church’s huge single-piece columns, original bronze doors, marble floors, and light-filled oculus of the dome. like a child who for the first time sees the vast and endless boundaries of the ocean, we stood amazed inside the pantheon trying to somehow capture in sketch or photo this building’s brilliance.

the morning provided many sights and experiences to take in and then discuss over lunch after we went our separate ways from our grand tour. the afternoon was left open to our exploration, allowing some to go back to revisit the tour route for a more in-depth study or provided an opportunity for others to go off investigating unfamiliar ancient sights. all, however, tried to encapsulate the essence of the place from our first visit as best as possible.