The engineering behind the dome of the Duomo has always amazed me so I couldn’t pass up the chance to climb up through the two layers to the top of the dome. I have been getting really good at climbing stairs, the trek up didn’t even wind me!

I seem to have developed a problem with catching trains in Italy. I keep showing up late, but luckily Italian trains are always late so I manage to catch the trains. Today was no different…

My hostel in Rome is really social, which is good because I knew I would have to find some guys to hang out with if I wanted to go out in Rome at night. I met some great American guys, Alex and Zack and we went out to dinner and saw all the amazing Roman sites by night. During our walk I discovered that Alex and Zack had never had gelato or Italian coffee, so I took it upon myself to introduce them to both.

A small window on the way to the top!

The stairs--at one point you are actually wedged in between two domes built within each other

The view from the top!