CIAO

I've been in Rome for just over a week and half and I am having such a splendid vacation. My brain mind been enriched with so much Roman history. It's incredibly overwhelming but I think that I've learned alot in the last few days and hopefully I'll be able to retain all this new knowledge in my head. There is just so much to see here. Rome is literally an open museum. Everywhere you look there is sculpture, monument, bridge , arch and so on which has some historic significance. Yesterday I went to Galleria Borghese which houses artwork by Caravaggio and sculptures by Bernini. I've always liked art but I've never really been completely amazed by what I've seen. I mean apart from the Sistine Chapel, which is unbelievable this gallery is a gem. The gallery is small and intimate kind of like the Frick in NYC but the art work this gallery holds is just extraordinary. So many sculptures and paintings dating back from Ancient Rome have been restored to its original splendor. It's truly astonishing and very interesting learning the history of this artwork. I was completely amazed by all the great works this gallery has acquired over the years. This particular gallery made me have a new appreciation for art.

19 is the number of days that I'm in Rome for and right now it is Day 11. I chose to stay here for almost 3 weeks, partially because staying here for that amount of time was the cheapest, and from my last post when I was talking about spontaneously and perhaps irrationally booking my ticket it was the best deal! When I got here, I was regretting it because I was a little homesick and this was the first time I was traveling by myself without any friends or family. But I mean, I think it's good that I'm staying here for almost three weeks because I've gotten a better sense of the the city, and not everything is rushed as many tour groups plan. I feel like I live here, but not really. I've learned how to take the bus and train all all by my lonesome. I've got my map in one hand and guidebook in another. Also, I was getting really irritated because everything was written in Italian. I had the worst time when I was at the post office because I didn't know what line to go too and well long story short...Italy is a foreign country where english is not the native language...so Why should they have to make bilingual signs?
So here a couple photos that I've taken since I've been here. I'll fill you in the next couple days..until then. Enjoy!