After a really good night of sleep last night, I realized how tired I had actually been yesterday. Jet lag is real, folks.
Waking up for breakfast wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it was so worth it. After forcing myself to get out of bed, my roommates (Victoria, Allison, and Lauren) walked downstairs to enjoy the continental breakfast at the hotel, with pastries and coffee and such. I had hands down the best hot chocolate I’ve had in quite a while. 
Filled with fuel to get me through the morning, I headed back upstairs to get ready for the day… and then accidentally took a nap until it was time to leave for our first media visit of the trip. So, at least I’m well rested? It really helped during the walk to the American University of Rome (AUR). So. Many. Stairs.
With only about 400 students currently enrolled, AUR is a cool little place. We listened to Dr. Andrea Bini give a lecture on the history and current landscape of Italian media. He brought up interesting points about the power of the media and how politics play a part in it. It was quite interesting that so many forms of media are affiliated with individuals and companies that hold power here. Also interesting, did you know that many Italian journalists don’t have a college degree? Instead, they just have to pass a test in order to receive a license in order to work in journalism.
After saying “Ciao!” to the campus, we caught the bus to head to every roman tourist’s favorite location: the Colosseum.
If we’ve learned anything today, it’s that a little bit of rain can’t keep us down. Shortly after arriving, it started raining. Of course, today is the day that I didn’t wear a jacket nor did I bring an umbrella. Poor planning on my part, really. But, a little rain never killed anybody!
The Colosseum, or the Flavian Amphitheatre, is massive. I knew it was big, but truthfully just didn’t realize how big. We had an incredible local tour guide, Katja, who took us through the location, talking about various aspects of its history and all of the blood and gore that took place inside the walls of the Colosseum.
We walked from the Colosseum to the Forum, passing temples and monuments along the way. What an incredible history this city has! Everything is built on ground that has centuries of history buried in its soil.
Katja was thorough in explaining both locations’ history as we walked. Honestly, I could have listened to her talk all day (and thankfully she’s going to be our local guide tomorrow as well!). She’s super informative, and funny, too! Katja should create a podcast about Roman history. I’d listen to it.
After heading back to the hotel, Victoria and I took a minute to get ourselves together and freshen up, considering the weather we endured throughout the day. Then, we headed off to find a place for dinner!
We were going to head in the general direction of the restaurant that we ate at last night to see what was in the area, but as directionally challenged as I am, we inevitably got lost. But sometimes, getting lost in a new city is exactly what you need.
Vic and I found a little indoor-outdoor restaurant called Cajo & Gajo. Here, I had my first real Italian pasta (and my first legal drink!) and it was so good!!
We skipped dessert at the restaurant and headed to find a gelato shop, which ended up being just around the corner. I opted for a simple chocolate gelato on a cone, but have decided from here on out I need to be more adventurous in my gelato experiences.
All in all, an amazing day. I still can’t believe I’m actually here!
Tomorrow we head to the Vatican, which for someone who is very non-religious is kind of intimidating. Tune in tomorrow to find out how it goes.
Ciao for now!