We started out the first full day in Rome with a walking tour of the area around our studio from one of our professors. She showed us around some important places and gave us some useful information. One thing that was interesting was that there are water fountains located around the city that I would have usually been skeptical to drink from, but she assured us that the water is good to drink and typically exceeds comparison tests with bottled water!
After that, we walked to the Parthenon which was only about five minutes away from our studio. It’s crazy to think that it is almost 2000 years old and the concrete roof looks like it could have been poured yesterday. Another interesting thing to note as you walk around the Parthenon and other ancient buildings, is the difference in ground level from when things were built until present day. Over time with flooding and the accumulation of dust and debris, the ground level today is about 18-20 feet above what it was then. Around the back of the Parthenon there is a retaining wall surrounding the Parthenon where you can see the drastic difference of where Rome today is built compared to the level 2000 years ago.