First Day

I'm still a bit jet lagged, but I think I've established a comfortable schedule to sleep and also be able to talk to friends at the same time. Woke up at 7am ish today, and headed out. Decided that today and probably the rest of the week would be a day for wandering around. It's pretty cool to have the time to just go where your feet lead in a city like Rome. I walked over to St. Peter's, which is absolutely amazing in the morning. It wasn't too hot, there was a nice breeze, but the sun was high enough to gleam on the dome. You could see locals sitting on the steps beneath the giant columns, eating pastries and reading the paper. From there, I went North and finally found an electronics store where I could buy a SIM card for my phone. After that, I found my way to Borgo Pio, and had a Roman breakfast of espresso and a cornuto (the most delicious croissant I've ever had.)

Eventually wandered across the river to the centro storico, whereupon I went to the Archivio. They were very helpful, but my broken Italian did not speed the process along. After reexamining some of the materials, I'll probably be spending most of my time in the Biblioteca. The Renaissance period is probably too late for what I need. After I finished my business, went to the Campo de' Fiori where there's a wonderful open market, and I had pizza at a very famous pizzeria. I ate my slice sitting on the edge of a fountain and watched the locals shop for fruits and vegetables.

Got lost for a while, but eventually found my way to the Pantheon, which is pretty amazing. However, since this was just a recon mission and the place was swarming with tourists, I decided to walk around some more. Ended up in Piazza Navona and the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of Four Rivers).

By now the afternoon sun was killing me so I headed back home. It's pretty easy to find home, I merely have to look for the dome of St. Peter's. Pictures are up on facebook. Might add them to the blog if I get less lazy.