Today we finally got to Rome! We started the day on the plane, where many of us students tried to sleep with varying levels of success. We landed around 10:00 a.m. Rome time this morning, and we definitely felt the fact that it was 3:00 a.m. Minnesota time. Customs was smooth, and we all got on the bus for our 25 minute ride to the hotel, where we were given our bus passes for the trip. Upon arrival at the hotel, we thought we would be waiting a while for rooms, but all the doubles were ready immediately. Most students, besides the two groups in triples who went off to do an extra expedition because they didn’t get their rooms and things until right before 1:30, went up to their rooms and had time to shower and take a break. Then many of us met up at 1:30 p.m. to go explore.

At 1:30, we gathered a group of around 24 students eager to explore, and we all went to the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, pictured below. We then broke off to grab quick snacks, such as pizza, a sandwich, or gelato, and met back up at the Church of Saint Louis at 2:30, when it opened. This church was stunning inside and gave us some great motivation for our next endeavor, going to the Vatican. By the time we got in line at the Vatican, we were down a few people who wanted to head back to the hotel to rest after a rough night of sleep. A group of us got through security and bought tickets to go to the top of the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica. It was stairs after stairs, and then more stairs. We also got to walk between the inner and outer domes, where the walls were slanted at a very odd angle. The view from the top was stunning, as shown below, and the stairs were cramped but interesting.

After seeing all of that (more of the Vatican will be discussed later in the trip), everyone was ready to head back to the hotel and rest up before our debrief at 6:00. After that, many of us went out to different places to grab a final meal for the day, and some went out to explore more. We all completed our homework for the day and then climbed into bed to get a much-needed full night of sleep.

Buona notte, and we will update tomorrow.

-Blake