The Traveling Gnome

Supposedly there is this little Travelocity Gnome that is supposed to go with you on your travels and take pictures with it. One of the girls here, Betty, has one and we took pictures with it today when we went places and later this evening we got drinks and gelato and it had some also. It's pretty funny and makes things interesting!

This morning Jay (my teacher) let us sleep in till 9:30, usually he is going to make us get up at 7:30 and then we had a "survival Italian" lesson so we can get around with a few words and phrases. We then had lunch at a cafe across the street and left for the Heart of Rome! We first went to the Spanish Steps and it was so hot that I just wanted to be in the shade!


Afterwards we walked to the Trevi Fountain, a popular tourist destination so it was really crowded. The saying goes that if you throw a fountain in the water facing backwards...you are ensured a trip back to Rome - of course I threw a coin in!



Next was the Pantheon and it was closed so we were bummed about that.

Then on to the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva...a church was built over the Temple of Minerva, the greek goddess of wisdom among other things. From the outside the church is pretty blah but inside it is gorgeous! I love the archways and the candles. There is a statue called Christ Bearing the Cross here by Michelangelo and it's interesting because it shows Christ with an athletic body which wasn't shown often.




Lastly we went to the Piazza Navona. There are 3 fountains here, a church and delicious gelato! There was a mariachi band singing songs in the middle so that was fun also.