We walked out of the metro station and found ourselves right in front of the Coliseum. It was so crazy to just see something in pictures and then randomly find yourselves right next to it. It’s huge! And so cool, but we’ll get back to that later.
After grabbing a quick croissant and asking lots of Italians for directions to our flat, we headed out…and found it…2 hours later. We also stumbled upon the Pantheon on our way….and that thing was incredible. It’s crazy to think something of that size and awesome-ness was made 2000 years ago. Once we got to our flat…a dingy little thing in a sketchy alley way but right next to a bus stop, we had to wait 2 more hours until the lady got there to give us the keys. So what did we do? We sat on the ground and slept….well, kind of. Once the lady got there we found our beds and paid the fee and then decided to take a 2 hour nap…..we went to sleep at 11...and woke up at….6!
Oh boy. After going to the local market to buy some pasta and hot dogs, we watched 2 Disney movies and just relaxed. The Lion King and Snow White are absolutely hilarious in Italian. Or should I say, Il Rei Leone and Biancaneave. It was an experience
Once we were awake the next morning, we headed to the Coliseum for a tour, and it was incredible. The thing is so old and the fact that it’s still so intact is incredible. To see it up close and learn it was completely covered in white marble, and to only be able to see one part of the floor where white marble still is is crazy. To see where the Emperor would stand, giving life or death to tributes, and to now see a Cross standing there is crazy. To be able to see the catacombs where the gladiators would be before they died was crazy. Just being there and thinking back to the time where people went insane with blood-lust, enjoying watching people fight to the death was crazy. I really enjoyed the Coliseum, and loved the history in it. What was crazy though, was one of the couples in our tour were from San Diego, and the wife had been to Hume for camp lots of times before! It’s crazy how no matter how far away I go…I always manage to meet someone who’s been in contact with my home. Hume really is an awesome place, and I’m so proud of it and the way God moves through it.
Next, after eating a yummy sandwich that cost me 5 euros, (enter angry face here), we headed to the old city of Rome, Palantine Hill, or the Roman Forum, to see all the old ruins. That was incredible. Standing on this hill you can see houses upon houses, worship centers, Temples, and the last 3 remaining columns of the Roman Senate. So much history was infused and alive in that place, and it was incredible to see, instead of just reading it in a history book.
After wandering around, watching them set up for their New Year’s bash…which looked…interesting, we stumbled upon some delicious gelato…the same gelato that would have us coming back every single day. We then headed back to our house, ate the last of our pasta and hot dogs, fully intending to head back to the party….but soon we found ourselves hooked on MTV’s Hitlist Italia and the New Year’s party…which consisted of everyone speaking and singing in Italian…including little kids. We then realized that it wasn’t worth going back for so we boiled our apple juice for apple cider, ate peanuts and cocoa puffs, and watched the crazy fireworks that lit up every inch of the sky.
The next morning, we slept in because we were tired, watched more Hitlist Italia, then headed to the Basilica, where the Pope lives. We were shocked by the amount of people there, and then found out that we had missed the Pope’s speech by 15 minutes…..BAH! We were so mad because if we had just turned the t.v. off when Eminem and Rihanna’s music video off, we would’ve made it. But oh well, what can you do? We then went and window shopped, looked at open markets, drank hot chocolate, ate gelato, and just enjoyed a new year. We saw the cool old church that’s in the movie Angels and Demons, saw the bridge with the angels on it, watched people attempt to ice skate, and then found the best pizza in all of Italy…..from a little store where the man working wasn’t even Italian, but still called us, “My friends!”
After that and a delicious Crepe, we headed back to watch the 1st Harry Potter, in Italian of course.
The next day we headed to the Trevi Fountain. It was really neat, but really crowded. We all made wishes, ate more gelato, walked around everywhere, discovered new places, went to the Wedding Cake (I can’t remember the name of the actual building, everyone just calls it the Wedding cake), saw some Capernwray friends, ate more gelato, and watched more Hitlist Italia.
The next day was our last full day in Rome. We went to the Vatican city…and by that I mean we waited in line for 2 hours to get into the Vatican city. It was actually pretty fun. After we were in we saw all those cool old things everyone talks so highly about, but if we’re honest, I thought it was all kind of overrated. Yes, the Sistine chapel was cool, but it was a lot smaller and seemed less grand than expected. There were so many people, there were no lights, and you could take no pictures…except…gasp! I did. ;)
After more gelato and pizza, we went to sleep for our last night in Rome.
The next day we basically just traveled to the airport. It was a pretty chill day, but I was excited for our next adventure…Paris!
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