Today we got to see the Roman Forum and the Coliseum! It was crazy to be able to walk down the block to such a historical site we’d been hearing about our whole lives. We had a guide for the day and she told us all about the gladiators in the Coliseum, the building itself, and the games held there. Being there made it so easy to imagine the Coliseum in its glory. We had time to walk around, explore and take lots of pictures!
We walked over to the Forum and were able to see the place were Julius Caesar was cremated.
After that, we split off to explore Rome on our own and find lunch.
Some of us went to the Vatican since it was the celebration of the Epiphany. After mass, Pope Benedict XVI spoke out of his window to speak to the huge crowd of visitors below. We were in disbelief that we were actually there. He spoke for about 20 minutes and towards the end said a prayer in English! It’s amazing how many languages he speaks.
THE POPE!
Thousands of people showed up to listen-we fought our way through every one!
In the late afternoon we met at the Borghese museum and saw all types of different artwork. We saw the Sacred and the Profane Love piece as well as the Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. Afterwards, we are all able to experience the city on our own. Having learned how difficult it was to split the check 17 different ways, we all went off in groups of about 3 or 4 to make dinner a bit easier. The only thing we wish we could have done was to have more group meals together-but-good thing we can all agree on gelato… A great first full day in Rome!
Arrivederci!
-EloninItaly
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