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 … Continue reading Day 4: Visiting the UN FAO! →

Today we climbed up St. Peters Basilica.  That is roughly around 550 stairs.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be but since we were constantly going in circles it got very repetitive. However, seeing the work of Michelangelo was worth it.  The Basilica was beautiful.  Its incredibly difficult to believe that … Continue reading My experience in Italy →

St. Peter’s Basilica is simply a masterpiece of the Renaissance world.  Walking up the 570 steps to the top of the dome is as if you were bringing yourself closer to God.  The entirety of Vatican square could be seen from the top, which accentuates the perfect symmetry difficult to visualize from standing at its … Continue reading To the top of the Basilica and to the top of the Castle →

Our  third day started, as usual, with our World Religions and International Relations classes at Pontifica Universita Urbianiana. Today we  had spirited discussions on current event and issues regarding the Abrahamic Religions and the role of gender in the study and development of International Relations. If you want the opportunity to go on one of … Continue reading Roma Giorno Tre →

Well, our travels did get off to a bumpy start with a delay through JFK which put our schedule off by about six hours, but everyone remained in high spirits and took it as part of the adventure. Despite going for a solid 24hrs of flying and laying over, everyone’s energy  was high for our … Continue reading There could be no better classroom! →

Today was technically our second day in Rome, however, I am counting it as the first because it was the first full day.  As in, we woke up today in a convent turned hotel, and started walking the streets of Rome, Italy. From 9 am to 12 pm we had our classes at the Vatican … Continue reading Everywhere you walk in Rome, you are connected to things that happened thousands of years ago! →

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 … Continue reading Day 3: Climbing the 551 steps to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica →

I awoke at 8:00 AM and headed down to the lobby for breakfast with Chloe and Margaret. I had a croissant covered in powdered sugar and a roll, since I’m a sucker for any type of bread product. After everyone finished up, we took a bit of a hike to the Pontifical Universitas Urbaniana, where … Continue reading The “Wedding Cake”, the Colosseum, and the Forum →

Today was the day. The day that Mr. Hesting had warned us that we would be climbing the several hundred steps of St. Peter’s Basilica. I already got winded walking up the stairs to the second floor of my school. Why would I want to exert myself that much? Before this, of course, we had … Continue reading The Climb, Ancient Churches and Castles, and Gnocchi →