Friday in Rome

Yesterday was a long day for us all - while we returned to the hotel by about 6:30, all were worn out from the long walk and many experiences.

After an early breakfast we headed out to the Metro station and journeyed to St. John Lateran. We spent over an hour at the basilica where we had time to both marvel at the art and architecture and spend time in prayer and reflection.

From there we walked down the street to St. Clements. Some were skeptical of the stop as the building does not look very promising from the exterior. However, they all bought their 5 Euro ticket and headed down the stairs to the excavation. Then they were pleased. The street level church was built in the 11th Century. However, below it is the 4th century church and the 1st century Mithraic temple and Christian house church the current church was built on. Everyone really enjoyed the journey into the cool, damp excavation.

Once we all had found our way back to the surface, we headed to St. Peter in Chains. Since it was getting late in the day, we only spent about 20 minutes there so everyone still had a chance to see the chains of Peter and the sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo.

From St. Peter in Chains we took a route past some other archeological sites to the Pantheon area. We began with lunch at Miscellanea and then spent some time in the Pantheon itself. As it was now quite warm and we thought a treat in order, we all had some excellent gelato from Della Palma.

After cooling off with the gelato we headed to the Trevi Fountain as we journeyed to the Capuchin Crypt. The Trevi was packed, so it was mostly a photo opportunity if you could squeeze your way through the crowds.

The Capuchin Crypt got mixed reviews - some were bothered by the creepiness factor while others found it simply fascinating. The response was much of what I expected.

Next we walked the short ways to the Spanish Steps. We spent about 45 minutes in the area. Initially we were going to stay longer or walk to the Borghese Gardens, but everyone was pretty tired so we headed back to our hotel via the Metro.

Once we all got back, most everyone enjoyed showers and a few even napped. We had dinner at 8:30 and people settled fairly quickly into their rooms for the night.

Today we eat breakfast in a few moments (6:30 am) and then leave by 7 am so we can see St. Peter's prior to going to the Scavi tour.