When in Rome... walk a lot.

We arrived in Rome yesterday with a little time to spare before our first dinner- a nice change from the previous cities we've been in when we've only had 10 minutes to spare!  I have come down with a cold so I used that time to go to the Farmacia to get some medicine, which cost me 15 Euros- totally worth it.

On our way here, we ran into another GT group at an Autogrill.... small world!  They were on their way from Rome to Venice, so I guess it wasn't too much of a coincidence.   I got to see my dear friend Brett, which was so very nice.  I love the people I'm traveling with, but it's nice to see a new face too :).  Especially his....

Today was spent walking through Ancient Rome.  I had no idea what to expect and I was truly amazed.

  It is so great to have a professor with us so that he can tell us all of the history of this area.  There is so much to see that  I can't imagine trying to do it without a guide.  We had pizza afterwards, then I took off on a walking tour of my own.  I walked up the Corso to the Trevi Fountain and then to the Spanish Steps.  I did some shopping in that area as well- I can't believe all of the stores they have here!   You name a brand, they have the store.   Then I headed back up to the hotel for some rest before dinner, which was expensive but worth it.

Oh, I forgot to talk about the traffic here... I will just say that clearly the Romans have either 1. a death wish or 2. complete faith that no harm will ever come to them.  It is crazy. We made it through a trip on the public bus though, so I can't complain.

Tomorrow it's a tour of churches, then the next day we hit the Vatican and St. Peters.  When in Rome!!!