Today we went to visit the Jewish Museum and the two synagogues. Our tour guide took us to the small synagogue first, allowing us to sit in the pews as she told us about where everyone sat and how the services would go. I learned that there used to be five major synagogues in Rome, but all except the two we toured in Rome had burned down.

Everything in the synagogues were so beautiful and ornate. There was not a space left undecorated in shining gold or rich colors. The tapestries that they used to preserve the Torah were very intricate and one from Venice that we viewed in the museum was made with silk and pure silver, along with real jewels. We learned that the silver had not corroded because of the silk that it was used with.

During our tour we also saw the cultural difference between the Orthodox and Reform Jews. It was interesting to see the feelings of the two sides come out right in front of us instead of just reading about them. Surprisingly, the tour guide allowed us to take pictures in the synagogues when in years past I heard that they hadn’t. I captured a picture of the amazing altar.

Today we were able to visit the United Nations World Food Programme. We took a bus to get there since it was on a different side of Rome that was too far to walk, and I was a bit relieved for the break since we have walked almost everywhere, and we did climb the 551 steps yesterday, plus all of the stairs up and down the castle we visited.

I was surprised at how colorful the building was. It turns out that countries often offer a donation for a room in the building, usually decorating it to match their culture. All of the artwork there was beautiful, and much of it had been donated by countries. It was really cool to see one of the many ways that the UN is a neutral place for the countries of the world.

Our speaker, Allison, took us into the Iran room to show us a presentation about what exactly the UN FAO does. We learned that this year is the international year of soils and that they are helping and informing farmers of the world better ways to farm that preserve the soil so that they can continue to successfully farm. It was really interesting to hear about how involved the UN is with the other nations, but also the academia side of things. They are constantly working with scientists to find new and improved ways to farm and eradicate world hunger. She also took us up to the roof of the building, which we found has one of the best views of Rome. It was beautiful!

After we visited the UN FAO, we also took a walk and visited the arena of the ancient Chariot Races (which was pretty much Roman Nascar and very awesome), a famous garden, as well as stopped by the smallest country in the world, Malta, which turns out to be practically 4 square blocks (give or take). We then went out to lunch and I was able to try some real Italian coffee. It was really strong, but it came in really small cups and was AMAZING. I would take the coffee home with me if I could!

Tuesday was the designated day to climb all 551 steps to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica. There was a lot of talk about it and I didn’t think it would be that hard. Boy, was I wrong. The first couple hundred steps were pretty easy, but soon after they started becoming progressively skinnier and the amount of air flow was also decreasing. At one point the wall was tilted inward and we all leaned as we climbed. However, once we reached the top, we all realized that is was more than worth it. Everyone could walk around the top of the basilica, giving us a complete view of all of Rome. I’ve probably never been so high  up in my entire life, but I’ve also never seen such an amazing sight.

After the basilica, we toured an ancient castle in Rome. It was amazing to see what a real castle was like. It’s not like a lot would have imagined – lots of stones and corridors and stairs. Although we learned that it had actually been refurbished for the Pope if he had ever wanted to stay there, which accounted for all of the rooms that were decorated in beautiful art and furniture. Of course, now it’s a museum so he wouldn’t be able to stay there these days.

Tomorrow we are supposed to visit the United Nations World Food Programme. I’m excited to learn about what they do!

Today was our first official day touring in Rome. We first met our tour guide, Jill, at the “Wedding Cake” building. It turns out that everyone in Rome hates it, surprisingly – it’s too white. I thought that it was a nice building, but when I looked around I could see what local Italians meant. All of the buildings in Rome are made from marble and have a creamier coloring to them, whereas the “Wedding Cake” building is practically pure white, and in the shape of a wedding cake, hence its name.

After we learned about the “Wedding Cake”, we walked to the Roman Forum. I was amazed at how much was simply in that park. But, as we learned, if you dig anywhere in Italy you’re going to find history. One of the places that we stopped at was the temple of the Vestal Virgins. Vesta was a Roman goddess who had a group of virgins who would serve her for 30 years. She had a garden where there were statues of these Virgins, but none of their heads had survived through the years.

The most exciting place that we visited was the Coliseum. I really have no words to describe it. You see all the pictures online and the recreations of it in the movies, but nothing really measures up to actually seeing it in real life. All I could do the entire time was just look around. It’s really amazing how it’s been preserved. Yes, people had taken it apart in the past and used it for other projects, but still so much of it stands without much of it’s support system. It goes to show how the genius of the Romans.

The first day of visiting Italy was even more amazing than I thought it would be. Maybe it was the fact that we had been on and off planes for the past 36 hours, but I found it hard to look away from anything. We dropped our things off at the hotel and freshened ourselves up a bit, then were off to view Rome. Our tour guide, Jill, brought us around the area and showed us where the bus stop is, where the supermarket is, and we walked through St. Peter’s Square (which is absolutely beautiful). We then went back to the hotel for a bit, but were off for dinner at a local restaurant at 6:45 pm. We all got to try some local food, and I personally tried fettuccine with salmon. It was definitely a new experience! Again, the touring didn’t stop there: We actually got to walk down by the Tiber river and look at some local shops.

It was so interesting to see the mixture of cultures among the people, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store for me!