Today, we woke up to the sound of the market taking place just below our balcony, once again. The market below takes up about 2 miles of street, with vendors stacked in about three rows --- a bit larger than the Des Moines Farmer's Market! However, last week brought some of the most exciting days I've had in Rome yet (which is exactly the way it should be, right? Each day getting more exciting than the last and such!) BUT - Thursday was, by far, the most entertaining day I've had yet due to the man in the image directly below this post. Jan Gedayne teaches at several of the American University programs in Rome (RISD, Cornell, Minnesota, etc.), and is known as the "Rockstar" when it comes to understanding and communicating the layers of history that exist in Rome. On our 3 hour morning walk with Jan, we covered almost 7.5 miles of built history from early BC to just a few hundred years ago. Walking around with Jan is easily one of the true experience types that makes one understand why study abroad is so essential to students today. In a way, 3 hours worth of information from Jan embeds years of knowledge that some Romans will never know about the city in which they live. Power of knowledge is truly an understatement once one truly understands the context where we now live, study, and continue to embrace. It's not necessarily the "power you feel that you suddenly have" once equipped with said knowledge, rather the "power of the impact" upon your perception of your surroundings. A list of a few things I saw this week! - Roman Forum and Palatine Hill - Alle fratte di Trastevere (free food for us -- "we're regulars") - La Basilica di San Vitale - Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore - Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Michelangelo's final architectural restoration work -- preservation and scheme for the Bath's of Diocletian) - Quattro Fontane - Gelateria Valentino - Trevi Fountain - Cappuchian Crypts - Borghese Gardens My new favorite places exist in the Borghese Gardens. Everything about the land (architecture, gardens, people, dogs, vegetation) is absolutely gorgeous!
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