So, I am going to break down my time in Rome in days to make it more accessible...I hope.
Day 1: The first day, we had to wake up at 3am to catch a flight out of Heathrow at 6. We hired a car to take us to the airport and I cut my ear on the car, a source of constant irritation throughout the trip. We finally got to Rome at 10. We hopped on the airport shuttle and headed towards the hotel. Unfortunately, the directions the hotel gave us were out of date, so we got lost. We ended up having to take a train to a metro to a bus. We finally got to the hotel around 2:30 and decided to head out to the Spanish steps to do some sight seeing. After the steps we walked to the piazza Venezia, but first we went to see the pseudo column of Trajan. Which was really cool, although, clearly made of plaster. Later, we headed to some Roman ruins and took silly pictures on top of capitals. We then went in search of dinner and found the only neighborhood in Rome with absolutely no restaurants. We then headed home to a nice warm bed.
Day 2: We woke up early and headed into Rome for our first full day of fun. We jumped right into it and headed straight for the Pantheon. It was 9 in the morning but there were still men dressed up as soldiers trying to get you to take their picture. The building was beautiful. I had no idea how colorful the marble could be. It was kind of weird to see Roman Catholic paintings in this VERY Roman building. We then headed to the Trevi Fountain to throw in some coins for luck. The Baroque statuary was breathtaking. Next we went to Lunch with my roommate’s friend Br. Adrian. He took us out to a very cute and authentic restaurant near the Santa Maria Maggiore. The whole church was covered in ornate gold and marble. Not to mention some lovely Baroque altar pieces. After the church, we decided to amble towards the Barberini palace. We stopped at the opera house (very disappointing, although I am sure the inside is lovely). We also ran though the piazza republica. We passed by it everyday on the bus but I never really looked at it before this day. Then we went uphill to the four fountains and the church with the floating dome attached to it (the Santa Maria di quarto fontane). Later we went to the Crypt of the Capuchin monks. This crypt is covered in sculpture and decoration made completely out of bone with the inscription "As you are we once were and as we are you will one day be." Next we headed up river to the Altar of peace museum. This museum was built around the altar but has a weird minimalist exhibition downstairs. Finally, we went to the Barberini palace and had a look at their collection. There were a couple of really nice ceiling paintings and the stars of their collection were the Fornarina, by Raphael, a painting by Caravaggio, and Henry VIII by Hans Holbein. We finally ate dinner and went back to the hotel, thoroughly exhausted.
Day 3: Day 3 was all about Vatican City. We started out at the museum. We saw the Sistine chapel ceiling and Raphael's "School of Athens". We missed a lot of the museum though because it was so hard to get around. Then we went to the Basilica and climbed to the dome of Saint Peter's. We got some great pictures of the city from the top of the tower. Later we went down into the church to see all of the beautiful art and sculpture. My favorite part was the Pieta. I didn't realize how moving it would be in person. We then walked out of the basilica to the Castle d'sant Angelo (of course we had to stop and get gelato on the way). Finally, we headed to the Piazza del popalo and the Campo di Fiori. The campo was disappointing as all the venders were in for the night, but the Piazza was still a lively art market. There were some beautiful fountains in the piazza. Finally we returned to the Pantheon for dinner. We were the only ones in the restaurant...us and the bright orange de-cor.
Day 4: Day four was all about ancient Rome. First, in a stroke of genius, we bought tickets for the Palentine, the Coliseum, and the Fori. We also saw the Arch of Constantine on the way. We then went to the Santa Maria in Cosmedin to put our hands in the mouth of truth. We then went to the Coliseum. It was completely packed with people and it was hard to get around. Fortunately it wasn’t tourist season, so we ended up getting some nice photos of the interior. We then went to the Palentine Hill. We went into Augustus' house where I got to see some authentic Roman wall painting (all three styles, it was really neat). The next stop was the Roman Fori where we saw a couple other arches. There were also a couple of Roman temples. After the Forums we went to the San Pietro in Vincoli to see Michelangelo's Moses. Our final stop was to the Capitoline Museum to see the Colossus and the Marcus Aurelius bronze. The best part was the view of the fori at sunset. Beautiful. We ate dinner at a nice little restaurant in the Piazza Novana.
Last Day: The morning of our last day we went to mass at the Vatican and stayed to see the pope's blessing from his apartment. I have actually seen the pope. After the mass we headed upriver towards the Piazza del Popalo where the Carnevale was being held. A million adorable children were dressed up in animal costumes. We then headed into the park and saw the Galleria Borghese, which was, unfortunately sold out for the day. By the time we got there it was 4 and we had to head back to the train station to get home. What a great adventure in Rome.

Sorry about the lack of photos. My internet is being so horrible at the moment that I can't upload any. I will be sure to post a whole blog-full when the net gets back in check.