February 17th, 2017

Today, we woke up with the bright Rome sunlight streaming through the window and a song in our hearts. After a hearty breakfast of a croissant and jelly, we were ready for the adventures to come...and they came. We began the day by traveling through time, descending down stony steps into long-forgotten history. The church of Saint Clemente is built on existing structures dating back to Ancient Rome. We marveled at a renaissance fresco, gaped at a medieval mosaic, and walked down an alley dating back to Ancient Rome. After dancing with the unstoppable force of time, we found ourselves at the Trevi fountain, straight from a scene out of the Lizzie Maguire movie. We wandered through sun soaked avenues and darling boutiques. Then, we relaxed in a park with the taste of creamy gelato still on our tongues. After resting in the sun, we walked through Galleria Borghese full of beautiful paintings and statues. This was easily one of our favorite places we have visited so far. The Bernini statues depicted a nymph turning into a tree to flee Apollo, the movement of David, and many other rich stories. One of our classmates, William, even found a doppelgänger amount the paintings! After drinking in as much beauty as we could before the museum closed, we got more free time to walk around and explore the gardens. We then went to an amazing restaurant where vegans were not only accepted, but beloved. One of us had a vegan burger, another a beautiful pesto tofu, and even vegan desert. After an incredible day, we are excited to rest our eyes for the next adventure that awaits us.- Grace, Olivia, Maddie