Hi Everyone! My name is Kristen Andrews and I am a Junior Mechanical Engineering student from Rosemount, Minnesota. Day 3 of our time in Rome was spent in class and out exploring some classic Roman tourist sites.

We met for class at 8:30am for a brief lecture before our adventure was to begin. Professor Besser discussed engineering aspects regarding forces on buildings. After a few student presentations, Claudio and three small vans met us outside the hotel. Our first stop was at the basilica of St Clemente. From the outside, the basilica was impressively large. The inside was even more majestic, with paintings on the ceilings. However, the most interesting aspect of the basilica was beneath the current structure. Descending down a flight of stairs, we were taken to a completely different world. The air was musty, it was slightly dark, and at times could give a claustrophobic person quite a scare. Beneath the current church was two stories of older buildings, the lowest dating back the first century AD. There was also a fresh water spring on the bottom floor. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed while in this building. After the basilica of St Clemente, we walked over to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The entrance was near a famous archway created by an old emperor who erected the monument after a key win in the war.

Our tour guide for this location was Grant, with help from the Rick Stevens travel book. Rick provided a spicy type of writing style for our adventure through the Roman Forum. Just for the day Grant became our tour guide as we walked the ancient streets that Augustus and Julius Ceaser once walked themselves.(editors note)

Between the two of them, the group learned much about the site. Even though the knowledge was coming from 90 percent Rick and the last 10 percent from Grant (editors note) There were marble pillars that were almost stolen (note the lines at the top of the pillar, those are indents from rope and vinegar being used to try to cut down the pillar as noted by Rick Steves.

There was a large temple (larger than a football field) which is only 1/3 still standing.

 

The cementation site of Julius Ceaser also resides in this location. At the top of Palatine hill, there was a race track where chariots were raced, which we visited.
The rain started but we managed to walk to the Trevi fountain and also to the Spanish steps.

As we wind down our days in Rome, we will be visiting some of the many churches and chapel through out the city. Look for pictures of the Vatican to come soon. The next destination for us is coming up this weekend when a majority of us will be going to Venice Italy to celebrate and visit the city. We are hopeful that it wont be under water but excited to see what the city has to offer and how it differs from Rome.