I have to back up to share the story of our first night in our “tent.” We booked tents which were more like permanent canvas rooms with door lock, three beds, and working lights. Not bad for a tent especially when I was expecting not being able to crouch much less stand around with walking space.

We’re both laying on our beds. Teddy is listening to Rick Steve’s intro to Rome and I’m writing in my travel journal. I can hear voices talking behind me and then I see bush imprints pushing against our tent. nbd w/e

Then, I realize that this guy and girl aren’t just passing by the tent. They have decided to hang out two feet away from our heads. And then, I realize that they aren’t just talking and the bush movements by the tent are happening because they are doing something! I’m silently freaking out, like, omg, what the heck??? Can they not see the light is on in the tent? I’m pretty sure I create a shadow! hahahah. omg. ahhh. gross. My face is very expressive and surprise, horror, and disbelief are taking turns distorting my face. I’ve sat up by this point which causes Teddy to look over at me.

He gives me a confused look as he removes his headphones then Teddy does one of his classic faces. My SMH friends will be able to imagine it. Its the one where his mouth looks like this —>

and his eyebrows shoot up as his eyes try to pop out. We both can’t help but silently laugh.

At this point, it has been confirmed. These two are trying to hook up. Wow, omg, is this really happening?hahahha.Then it gets better.

“Do you like that?” the guy asks the girl. AHAHAHHAHAHHA ahhhh what the heck?! Our laughter has gotten slightly louder and the couple has suddenly grown quiet. The bushes move a little bit more. They exchange some words, walk away, and Teddy and I go to sleep after digesting what just happened.

Thank you random couple for giving me some great memories. I like that.

October 3rd—Post Colosseum, Palantine Hill, Roman Forum, Capital Hill, Trajan’s Column. The Pantheon :)

After our al-dente pasta lunch, Teddy and I started to make our way to the Pantheon. I normally cook pasta till it is softer but I gotta stop that. Cooking al-dente really makes a difference

While walking we saw this monument from a far in between cross streets—>

It is pretty impossible to miss the Victor Emmanuel II Monument because of its massive scale and brilliant white color. So we saw that without actually ever getting that close to it. My little brother’s name is Victor Emmanuel, but I’m pretty certain that my parents didn’t know they accidentally named him after the first king of Italy.

#1 The Pantheon plus obelisk as viewed from the Piazza Rotunda.

This obelisk is one of 13 obelisks in the city taken from Egypt and brought to Rome. These obelisks are single pieces of granite! (usually) This fact adds to my amazement when you realize that animals or men carried the weight (and/or sailed it across the Med).

#2 and 3 The dome is massive. The picture only shows a small part of the width and height. It is 142 ft tall and 142 wide. It is really impressive. The dome inside St. Peter’s Basilica is same size but it is difficult to appreciate the scale of that dome when placed inside the ginormous Basilica, but the dome of the Pantheon defines the building’s size. Its just amazing. A ball of 142 diameter would fit perfectly inside.

Notice the indents? The Rick Steves audio tour that Teddy and I downloaded taught us that the indentations were used to make the dome thinner and more importantly, lighter, as it reached the top. The base is 23 ft thick…whoa. The top is 5ft thick….still whoa. I’m just in awe of this building.

#4 Drain hole for the rain!

#5 Victor Emmanuel II again. His tomb is inside the Pantheon as is the tomb of Raphael, who painted The School of Athens, which is housed in the Vatican Museum, and which I’ll describe later.

#6 The Pantheon’s dome is probably the most influential dome. Michaelangelo and Brunelleschi both used it as a model when building their own domes in St. Peter’s Basilica and the Duomo in Florence, respectively. In the Pantheon’s case, the hole at the top of the dome helps eliminate some weight and provides the ONLY source of light for the building. I repeat, it is not a window but a 30 ft wide hole in the ceiling. As Teddy and I walked away, I told him how I thought it would be awesome to come back during a rain storm and he finished my thought by saying, “to see the rain fall through the dome”—-exactly! 

#7 This is a picture of the exterior. The outside of the building from the back is just a plain cylinder. I didn’t even know we had arrived when I stopped along the wall to tie my shoe. I just thought it was a super huge random building that resembled a granary.