We had a fun-filled day in Rome! We woke up at 6am, made a quick breakfast in our apartment, and headed to the train station. I live in the 8 person apartment, and most of the girls enjoy coffee in the morning – we have been stopping at numerous Italian coffee shops but they saw a Starbucks and wanted to see how it tasted compared to American Starbucks. Italian coffee is a lot less sweet, and they have gotten so used to it that the Starbucks drinks were too sugary and didn’t taste as good.
We had a short train ride, and went straight to visit the Roman Forum. This area is full of ancient Roman ruins – it includes a Senate building, a marketplace, a house for the highly regarded Vestal Virgins, and so much more. Most of these buildings had crumbled so only partial buildings were still standing. Next we visited the Colosseum. It looks very similar to present-day stadiums but is obviously much older and more historic. It had massive dents in the sides from when the metal bindings were taken out of the structure. We got to walk around inside and admire the seating arrangements (the Emperors, Vestal Virgins, Knights, and rich people sat towards the bottom while the women, slaves, and poor people sat towards the top). We also got to hear about the different events that were held in the Colosseum such as Gladiator fights, plays, and more.
We then got on a subway to go across town to our lunch at Isola Della Pizza. They served us many Italian appetizers such as bruschetta and mozzarella and a delicious meal of pasta with tomato sauce. We quickly gathered our things and headed over to the Vatican. Since the Pope lives there and it is the head of the Catholic Church, it is technically its own Country! It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen! It includes so many tedious paintings, the use of gold, and many ancient artifacts. We got to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.
After a lot of walking and a long day, we got on the train back to Florence. My 8 roommates and I grabbed pizza from a place near our apartment and then went to get gelato! As I got to see the city of Rome for the first time, my eyes were opened to the importance of religion in the Roman Empire. You can see that many decisions were made about politics and economics because of the way they viewed and respected the Pope and Vatican. I also got a better glimpse into Italian culture and got to experience the slower pace of life as an Italian.