Ah, to wake up in Rome. We started our day with the hostel’s complimentary breakfast which far surpassed any of the complimentary breakfasts I’ve ever had in America. The spread included an array of pastries, tarts, and a NUTELLA DISPENSER. There was also the most unique array of juices I’ve ever seen which I don’t know the names of but can confirm were delicious. My favorite thing may have been the coffee machine, which offered espresso, lattes , tea, and ‘American Coffee’ which I think was just black coffee with a lot of milk.
Then, we headed to the American University of Rome! The campus is absolutely beautiful, even if we had to climb a lot of stairs to get there. After our lecture we headed to our tour of the Colosseum! Even though it was raining, it was still breathtaking to be able to be inside of a world-renowned monument and get to know some more of its history.
I tried to get a closer look.
Next, we took a tour of the Roman Forum, which led to the ‘center’ of Rome. We learned that the phrase “downtown” comes from the fact that the path to the center of Rome slopes downward.
The Forum was home to a lot of historical ruins, including the rock that Julius Caesar was allegedly cremated on.
Our tour guide also pointed out the remains of a temple that had been built for the Vestal Virgins and explained that, if chosen, the young woman in that group were treated like royalty. Instead of walking, they were carried. They lived among a beautiful rose garden with their own bedrooms. They were invited to the best parties and given all the wine they wanted! A life of luxury-at the cost of abstaining from temptation. And if they broke their vow they were buried alive. ANYWAY here’s the ruin of their temple!
We also saw a few remarkable arches built by emperor’s to preserve their legacy. I mused aloud as to when Trump would build his arch. Josh Croup reminded me that he already has Trump Towers, to which I say touché. These are a lot prettier though!
After our tour we had the remainder of the evening to ourselves. Kayla Novak, Kristina Pacifico and I went to a restaurant about 5 minutes away from our hostel. We were immediately overwhelmed by our lack of cultural knowledge: Do we sit ourselves? Do we ask to be seated? Wait, we can’t ask because none of us know enough Italian! How did Lizzie do this?
Luckily, we had a very kind, bilingual waitstaff to help us.
Sadly, all the gelato places were closed by the time we left dinner- guess I’ll just have to make up for it tomorrow!