Ciao!

After kicking myself for that three hour nap the night before and not being able to fall asleep until 2am I woke up to Alison poking me in the shoulder telling me to get up. We had read about a Galleria Borghese in a park north of town that had free admission on the first Sunday of the month.

The park was gorgeous and a literal breath of fresh air after being in the city for a few days. Having never been to Central Park I imagine this is similar but more rustic. There were no sidewalks, only dirt or pebbled paths.

When we got to the Galleria we were told that the museum was free for exactly forty more minutes and we were welcome to see as much as we could in that time. There were only two floors and it was a fairly small museum compared to what we had seen in previous days. My favorite piece was part of an exhibition that I don’t actually remember the name of the artist (oops). Anyways, he made a replica of a sculpture and installed it on a turn table. With the lights dimmed, the table began to rotate faster and faster and turned the former statues into living art. I really wish I had taken video but trust me it was mesmerizing.

After we left the Galleria we wandered around the park and found a couple of other museums. One of which might have been the best we saw our entire stay. The artist was Pietro Canonica and he created the most life like marble statues. He sculpted Aristocrats and commoners alike. Stunning in person. Both Alison and I felt like their eyes and bodies were speaking to us.

Leaving the park we wandered towards the Spanish steps in search of food. There are a lot of steps. One hundred and thirty five to be exact. We also found our first street artists displaying fine works such as Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and Katie Holmes. We found a pizza place that had two slices of pizza and a coke for 4,50€. Which was super cheap and hands down the best pizza.

We finished our day with a walk to the Piazza del Republica, and a metro ride to the national library which was closed (and Alison said it wasn’t pretty so we shouldn’t care).

When we got back to the hostel we had new roommates and spent a few hours talking and playing card games. Alison and I tried an Italian light beer which tasted pretty good for only two euro and came from a vending machine. We tried to watch the Super Bowl but got kicked out of the main room so staff could clean (pfft!).

Not a bad way to end our stay in Roma.