Buongiorno

Good Morning!

So, now that you all have completed the "Fall Back," we are back on our normal time schedule (I am six hours ahead again...instead of the five I was last week).

Anyway, this weekend was a great weekend. Though we had a day off school, I spent the weekend in Rome, "being a tourist in my town" (Thank you, Mr. Mayor Bernero). My friend Liz and I made a list (and checked it twice) of things that we haven't seen yet. A large part of the list included churches and little piazzas that we hadn't ventured into yet. Well, it was a great success.

We managed to make it to approximately eight churches and six or seven piazzas. It was very interesting, as so many of the churches are so different from one another. A few of the highlights included: a church whose crypt was decorated (seriously decorated...all over the walls and ceilings) with the bones of thousands of dead monks; Rome's only gothic church (home to three Carvaggio masterpieces); a Baroque church described by Wikipedia's travel website as being "Baroque art on steroids. Simply astounding;" and a church that was built on top of ruins of an ancient Christian church that was built on the ruins of an even more anceint pagan (Mithric) temple and settlement)--it is also the only place in Rome that you can hear and see the underground river that flows underneath the city....very cool.

Additionally, we also had the pleasure of seeing the statue of Pasquino, a tailor who lived nearby and liked to complain a lot. The interesting thing about this statue is that in following in his footsteps, the people of Rome post complaints, opinions, or any other statements they would like to share with the world on the statue for all to see. It was pretty interesting (not that I really knew what the complaints or opinions said, but interesting nonetheless).

All in all it was a great, and highly productive weekend. I'll try to post pictures from our adventures soon!

Ciao!

P.S. Countdowns:
Dublin: 3 days!
My birthday: 11 days!
My brother arrives: 12 days!
Yessssssssss!