Every week goes so fast here in Rome that it almost becomes normal to take for granted being in such an elaborate city. I was talking to my friends about traveling on the weekends and how every time we get to a new city we explore as much as we can in the little time we spend there. Any moment we have to find different unique opportunities, we do it. And then we come back ‘home’ to Rome and jump back into the daily routine of the school week. This has us feeling at home so much that we almost forget that we can take 30 minutes out of our day, jump on a bus, and go out to be in Rome. Tonight, back at the apartment, my friends and I had made dinner, the music was playing low and we had a card game going. A day of classes had us feeling tired but we wanted to just leave and be outside, even for 30 minutes. My friend had the idea of taking the bus right outside the apartment, getting off 5 stops later at Prisciano, and walking about 5 minutes up into a park to see a full view of Rome. The area is all residential with a few shops on the street. Once turning off the main street I felt (weirdly enough) in a woodsy part of Pennsylvania. There was a back winding road with tons of fall leaves on the ground that we kicked through as we walked along enjoying the perfect cool night air. A quick turn had us walking up a steep hill and approaching a sharp turn in the road. Off to the right there were huge gates blocking the entry to the paths in the park but we noticed that parts of the gate were wide enough to slip through. Stepping through that gate my jaw dropped as the path opened up to this entire layout of Rome. The over glow of the city lights that lit up Rome, the curved flow of the Tiber River, and the famous monuments scattered perfectly along the layout, was all mapped out beautifully. We sat down for 20 minutes and soaked it all in. There was St. Peters Basilica, brighter than any monument and the first thing you notice when you look out at Rome. We looked and pointed where school, home, certain piazzas, and other monuments were. It was so relaxing to look out and know that this is where we are living right now and we are having the time of our lives not letting one second pass by without loving what we’re doing.
A five-minute bus ride from our apartment, and look where we ended up. From now on, every week at least once, until I leave Rome, I will come to this spot just to sit. I want to experience the sun fade out of Rome and the sunrise in Rome. This is something that I will remember forever and I will love to look back at this trip and think about looking out over Rome twice a week.