Buon giorno!
Its our second day in Rome and I already love this city. There's something about walking around on the narrow cobblestoned streets lined with vespas that makes me feel at home. One thing I really enjoy looking at is how modern Rome has integrated and built upon ancient Rome. Facades of churches built hundreds of years ago are joined directly to apartments. Historic landmarks and piazzas are surrounded 
by tall apartment buildings and small shops so that wherever you go you will inevitably stumble upon some hidden treasure left by ancient Romans. Everything here is worth capturing on film!
But anyways, today started with two amazing/informative presentations by June and Schuyler, who talked about the Roman Forum (above) and the Arch of Titus (below), respectively. I especially admire Schuyler's concentration, ignoring the street vender who was being arrested behind him. We got to learn a lot about the transformation of the Forum from a small marketplace into the city's center of law, religion and prestige. We saw the Senate house (called the Curia in Latin) and old law courts (called basilicas in Latin), churches and temples, and also old monuments and buildings dedicated to emperors and important patrons. One of these monuments was the Arch of Titus, which was dedicated to Titus after his successful campaign against the Jerusalem. They set a high bar for the presentations so hopefully the rest of us can keep up.
We also took a tour around the Campo Dei Fiori, the neighborhood where the Rome Center is located. Although it is covered with bars at night, there are a lot of delicious restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores around during the day. To cap off the day, I also had the turkey and pesto panini, which I have been craving since I was last in Rome, three years ago. I'm going to cool off with some gelato. Be sure to check back for more posts in the future!
Matt and Joel by the Roman Forum
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