Two Weeks "Free"

As time beings to wind down here and the exchange rate continues to go up, us students living on the dollar-to-euro lifestyle have become more and more accustomed to trying to find anything that is mildly cheap. Lucky for us, March 25-31 was Cultural Week in Italy, meaning that all of the nation's monuments, historic sites, and parks had free admission. As you know from reading the post below this one, we already took advantage of going to Pompeii for free on the 25th. We decided, however, to take advantage of this week during the beautiful days we had a few more times.
The first place that we went was Castle Sant'Angelo. The castle has an amazing amount of history, offering a beautiful view of the city. The castle was originally built in 135 AD as a mausoleum for Hedrian. In 401, the building was converted into a military fortress, and remained as such until Pope Nicholas III converted it into a castle for him to escape to in the 14th century. From the Pope's residence in the Vatican down the street, there was (and still is) a bridge that ran all the way to the Castle, allowing the Pope to safely escape into a fortress when the public became upset with him. The castle is beautiful, and has an amazing amount of history. The fact that the building is still standing as strong as the day it was built is amazing, and the views that it gives is amazing.
From there we went over to the Palantine Hill, and the Circus Maximus which is one of the most historic spots in Rome, right next to the Roman forum, the Imperial Forum, and the Colosseum. Recent excavations have shown that people were living on the hill as far back as 1000 BC. The hill is also the site where Augustus' Palace was. The hill has amazing views of the city, as well as parks and ruins that are amazing on a bright sunny day.
That same day, we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is a massive building filled with Italian military history, as well as a symbolic tomb flanked by two eternal flames, and guarded by soldiers at all times. Although most Italians tend to not like the building's design and form, it provides great views of the city, as well as a great museum showing the Italian military history that can't be seen anywhere else.
Lastly, there have been some great free concerts that we have seen around the city. One of the best of these was in the center of the city this past week, honoring the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King. The ceremony was very nice, but the chorus and the band that honored them was even better. The Chorus was the Life Water International Chorus from the United States, and the band was a fusion orchestra with amazing talent.
When it comes to other events happening here, I also was lucky enough to get to go see the Roma vs Manchester United soccer game this past week. the game was a Champions League game, meaning that it was very important as to how far Rome gets to go in the finals. Security was very tight at the game, and the stadium was more fired up than I have ever seen it. Manchester United fans are known for being pretty insane, and I can tell you from experience that they lived up to that title. Unfortunately, Roma did not win the game, although they do still have a shot to advance if they win by enough this coming week.
It does appear as if I might not be living the "free life" for much longer, as I'm about to travel to London this coming weekend, where the exchange rate is even worse than the one in Italy. I'll update everyone as soon as I get back from London this weekend. I hope everything is going well back at home. The weather over here is getting nicer by the day, and as the weeks wind down, we're all doing our best to enjoy the outdoor aspect of Rome as much as we can. I'll see everyone in just a few more weeks. Keep in touch.

~Mike