Italy paraphrased...

My 11 day trip to Italy never ended in any blogging, sadly.  The main culprit was finding a strong, steady wi-fi signal.  This is something rare and hard to find in a hotel with tons of teenagers.  I have so many beautiful photos and stories to share.  First, the amount of art I saw, both ancient and modern, was overwhelmingly amazing.  Art is everywhere.  Italy breathes art as well as makes it a part of their culture right down to the food.  Second, our group was joined by two smaller EF tour groups.  These guys really made our trip even more fun.  It was nice to experience this trip with others who had become friends by the end of it.  Third, I can only hope the students we took with us got as much from this journey as I did.  I know they were tired of churches, walking, the hot sun, and people constantly bombarding them to buy, buy, buy!  However, just from the photos I have seen them post online I could tell they were definitely absorbing their surroundings.

This was our group before we left the Birmingham airport to start our trip!  

This was my first view of Italy's landscape.  The mountains were huge and we often traveled through tunnels to get through them. 

The Pantheon was one of the first sites we saw on our first day in Rome.  It was a rainy day, but this ruin was phenomenal.  It was remarkable how we were just walking down a random street (the design of the streets is a whole different thing I fell in love with in Italy) and boom, there is the Pantheon.  I had no idea it was nestled so closely in this Piazza. 

The dome is of course one of the most important in both archeological and art history.  Watching rain fall through this massive oculus was quite a surreal experience.  Here are a couple of photos taken from inside...

I took many panoramic shots throughout the trip.

Here is the tomb of the famous painter and architect, Raphael.

Our next stop was the Piazza Navona.  There was three beautiful Baroque fountains in this Piazza.  Each intricately carved out of marble and telling a different story.  The obelisk seen here is originally from Egypt.  

This fountain represented the four major rivers (the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile, and the Rio de la Plata) and was carved by Bernini. 

We were not allowed to take photos in Sant'Angese in Agone Church located in the Piazza.  It was designed by Borromini, who was hated by Bernini.  The twisted bodies of the people carved into the four rivers statue were showing disgust against Borromini's design. 

That was a lot to digest, right?!?!  That was just the FIRST day and I am not even done!  I will continue documenting the journey in sequence.