This past week my friends and I ventured out to Rome, Italy for our school’s reading week, a week off for studying in the beginning of November. We visited all the essential landmarks: the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps… and ate pasta, pizza, gelato until our bellies were full. It was so much fun! Each landmark was equally breathtaking and monumental. Every meal was overly satisfying and delicious. I kept pinching myself everywhere I went. Italy was a dream.

The first day in Rome, it poured relentlessly. By the end of the day, my friends and I were soaked head to toe, but that didn’t take away from the experience. In fact, it made the experience more exciting.

Being surrounded by all the history got me envisioning myself in the capital 753 years BC, when the city was founded. What did it look like then? Did the Romans know they were building masterpieces that would stand and be praised for thousands of years to come? It makes me wonder what it is that society is creating now that will be admired in the future, or on the opposite end, frowned upon.

Tomorrow we head to Cinque Terre to visit the beautiful Manarola. We will spend the night there before heading out to Venice to conclude our trip. I am hopeful for what is to come.