Lots of Sightseeing

This week was another busy week filled with classes, sightseeing, and yes, even another pub-crawl. In my short time here, I've seen a lot of the sights that Rome has to offer, but I don't think anything has been quite as impressive as the Pantheon. Yes, the colosseum is a 50,000-seat stadium that was built 2000 years ago, but the Pantheon has more original parts, and quite frankly, is equally impressive to behold. Before I got to Rome, I had only ever seen a picture of the front of the Pantheon; I had no idea that the bulk of the building is taken up by an enormous domed structure. The typical image of the Pantheon, the frontal view that showcases the columns, does not do the building justice. The dome is open at the top, to let in the elements and I have heard that it is quite impressive to see the rain come down through the opening, (there is a drainage system to protect the marble floors from prolonged exposure to water). It’s truly massive inside and the architecture and attention to detail is very impressive. I also learned, with the help of my handy mTrip iphone app, that the dome of the Pantheon is still to this day, the largest, unreinforced concrete dome in the world, and building itself has been in continued use since it was built. That to me is way more impressive than the Colosseum. It's amazing that Romans had the engineering skill to construct such a massive structure so long ago, and we still can barely manage to make an SUV that gets 20 mpg. Also impressive, was the fact that there is is a McDonalds in the Piazza with the Pantheon. So if you want, you can marvel at the former temple of the gods while enjoying a Big Mac and a McFlurry. I opted for Gelato instead. 


Aside from the Pantheon and some other sightseeing, I continued to attend classes, and I have continued to learn a great deal. I'm really enjoying all my classes, but consumer behavior and international finance have turned out to be very valuable. I'm driven to really think hard about people and their decision making in consumer behavior, and international finance helps me to remember that America isn't the only country in the world. That’s all for now, but If I think of more to add to this post I shall. I'm taking a cooking class this Tuesday, so look for a potential blog post explaining how delicious my meal was. This blog seems to hate pictures but check out all my pictures on facebook.