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Day 18, 19, 20, & 21

Day 18

Day 18 was half a travel day. I went from Barcelona to Madrid by plane. Then when I laded I got settled at my hostel and went to the Palace to explore. I couldn’t take picture within the palace but I could outside of it.

Day 19

For day 19 I took a bus trip to see Segovia where there is large visible parts of Roman aqueducts. These were important for my project because it helped me visualize what the Romans used in Rome but it was all under the ground. In Segovia part of the aqueducts are above ground for the channel needed to pass from one mountain to another. It is amazing that those stones are held together by no building material besides it’s own weight.

Day 20

For day 20 I visited with an old friend of mine who lives in Madrid and we went to a zoo just outside the city. And this was the last full day of my trip.

Day 21

In the morning I headed to the airport a long day of flights and got ready to see my parents when they picked me up at the airport.

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Day 15, 16, & 17

Over my whole time in Barcelona I visited the Sagrada Família church and a former bull fighting ring (which resembles the Colosseum) that is now a shopping mall. I also visited the Güell park a beautiful park which was supposed to be a rich community but ended up being a park instead.

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Day 13 & 14

Day 13

For my last full day in Paris I had early morning plans to visit the Eiffel Tower and then later in the day go to the Catacombes. I woke up nice and early get to the Eiffel Tower. I got in line and got ready to head up to the top of the tower by elevator. The view was beautiful.

When I came down for the tower I stopped for lunch then headed to the catacombs to explore under Paris. I’m the catacombs I went throw so many twist and turns. When I got to the part were the skulls and bones actually are it was surprising yet peaceful.

Day 14

Day 14 purely a travel day I had to get to the Paris airport and fly to Barcelona, Spain. I didn’t get into Barcelona until 7:30.

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Day 10, 11, & 12

Day 10

For day 10 I choose to take one of my open days and go to Disneyland Paris. I took this opportunity to visit a magical place.

Day 11

I went to a castle and look at an old piece of Paris history.

Day 12

For day 12 I went to the Louvre museum which use to be an old palace and was turned into a museum. Following going to the louve I went to the Arc de Triomphe which resembled the arch that I saw in Rome by the Colosseum. After visiting the Arc de Triomphe I headed to get a look at the Notre Dame. Since the fire there is no access to the building just viewing it from the block infront of it.

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Day 8 & 9

Day 8

For my first day in Paris I was excited to enjoy the city for it was Bastille day which is France’s Independence Day. I decided to use the metro to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. This is a church that sits up upon a hill over the city of Paris. The large domes and arches echo the looks for churches and important religious buildings I saw in Rome.

Day 9

For Day 9 I went to the Centre Pompidou to look at the art but also the architectural area in the museum of building designs which looked futuristic.

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Day 5, 6, & 7

Day 5

This was a travel day. I left beautiful Rome and headed to the equally stunning destination of Florence. I traveled by train to Florence.

Day 6

Today was the day I explored Florence and got a good look at the Santa Maria del Fiore. This church has a stunning outside decoration and a large dome which is very similar to Roman churches. I also looked at all of the statues in a plaza full of statues.

Day 7

Day 7 I was once again traveling. My stay in Florence was short. I started my journey to Paris, France at 3am to go to airport. I arrived mid-day in Paris and used the metro to get to my next Airbnb.

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More pictures for day 4

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Day 4

Day 4

Today was the big day I headed to the famous Colosseum. I had an early morning tour through the Colosseum and then in the Rome Forum. I met my tour guide with the two others who were also on the tour. We started by getting pictures infront of us in front of the Colosseum and then headed down to go in.

Inside we had our personal tour guide who had studied as an archaeologist and had helped excavate some of the pieces we saw on our tour. She explained to us that what we see now if the Colosseum is just bare bones. That what was the seen by the Romans was a beautifully decorated arena. There was white marble, statues, decals, and even a shade cover that could be opened and closed over the Colosseum.

Sadly she explained that most of the decor and items were taken when materials were need to build and construct other monuments and homes. Any bronze statues were melted down to make other materials as well as metal claps used to help hold blocks in place leaving holes in the stones and arches of the Colosseum. We were told during the long life of the colosseum it was used almost as apartments and homes.

Later after exploring the Colosseum and gathering more pictures we headed over to the Roman Forum to get a birds eye views over the area where the romans walked to get news and information during their daily lives. There were also more examples of their impressive domes and columns.

On our way back to our meeting point our amazing tour guide showed us an arch next to the Colosseum which depicted and conquest of a civil war within Rome.

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Day 3

Day 3

Today was I planned to visit the Trevi fountain, the pantheon, and the Spanish steps. When looking for Roman architecture the pantheon was a basic and raw example of Roman architecture. With the basic columns and dome it illustrated some of most recognized Roman arcgitectural characteristics.

The Trevi fountain was an amazing example of the Roman flare that was given to many of their buildings and monuments. Although in some they were lost the Trevi fountain has all its flare and decor.

I stopped for lunch on my way to the Spanish steps. In front of the steps there was a little fountain that reminded me a bit of the Trevi fountain.

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Day 1 & 2

Day 1

Day 1 was my main travel day. I had a flight out of Pittsburgh and then a connection in Washington DC for my long over night flight to the beautiful Rome, Italy.

Day 2

Day 2 I arrived early in the morning to Rome. I went through customs, grabbed my bags, and headed to my Airbnb. I was staying in an adorable apartment with a terrace. I hoped into the metro and walked through the streets to arrive at my destination. I then started to plan out my days in Rome and get ready to set out for adventure.

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Intro to my trip

Hello, I’m Kate and I had the amazing luck to be able to travel throw Italy, France, and Spain. I left for my trip on July 7th and documented my travels during my whole trip and I plan to share them here on this blog. I’ll post pictures and information I learned. 

The purpose of my trip is to go and understand how Roman architecture has helped shape architecture throughout the ages.