first full day in rome

i had a great day exploring rome (west of the tiber) today. i went with a couple of other students to explore the neighborhood, and hiked up to the vatican with a larger group. there is a point on the walk where we were overlooking all of rome. it was completely breathtaking. it was also very strange to think that the city in front of me is going to be my home for the next few months. i guess it still hasn't sunk in. anyway, once we made it to the vatican we were able to go inside the basilica and see saint peter's in the late afternoon, which made for some glorious lighting. check it out.


we walked back towards the centro along the tiber, overshooting our neighboorhood to find dinner in the trastevere area. we took our time heading back, and wandered further through the trastevere neighborhood. we ended up getting to the piazza santa maria, which has a church and fountain, before heading home.

back at the centro we got dessert at a local gellateria, and enjoyed the amazing weather (about 66-68 degrees F at night) out in the courtyard.

basically, i am in love with my study abroad program, and classes haven't even started.