One Full day in Rome...

In the morning we woke early, had our included breakfast and made our way to the coach bus that brought us to the city center of Rome.  Once there, we met up with our local guide and began to see the beautiful sites of Rome, starting with the large Vatican wall and some of the beautiful bridges and buildings lining the river.  After a short driving orientation tour we hopped off the bus at the expansive Roman Coliseum.  We were with our local guide which granted us priority access into the building.  Before going in, we stopped for a group picture and looked at the arch of Constantine while catching our first glimpse and step on the original Roman stone roads. 

Walking in and around the Roman Coliseum made me feel like a minor speck next to this vast structure.  We were in awe of the precision, organization, and mechanical feat creating this stadium must have been for the Romans.  Each arch of the building was numbered to instruct Roman ticket holders the correct entrance for their arranged seating.  The coliseum could be filled within minutes for a big event.  The planning and organization was  down to every detail, better than we can do now after 2,000 years of technological advances.  It was truly remarkable.   

Inside the building was very interesting.  A medieval earthquake took down much of one side, however much of the building remained strong.  The building was originally covered in white marble sheeting, but since the fall of the Romans, much of it was removed and used in other structures.  However, some of the marble remains in its original state.  The walls contained the ancient brick work as well as restored brick to support the current structure.  They were restoring the wood floor to give tourists a glimpse into the stage view of the war games and bloody fights.

Paul and I took a lot of pictures and enjoyed our guide’s description, he was great – Franchesco.  We also got a few laughs because 5 of the people in our tour group asked the guide about the “floor” when he had already explained it.  The guide kept his cool and explained the floor structure again, and again, and again.  Haha, “so where is the floor?”

The Roman Forum

After the Coliseum we went to the Roman Forum, again with priority access which was nice.  We stood back and laughed as a few passerbys tried sneaking in with our group and Franchesco caught them.  We caught the whole thing on video and in pictures.  It was an older gentlemen pretending to be confused, but really trying to pull a quick one.  The Roman Forum was spectacular.  The columns remain in their original places, and we were able to see the small remains of where Caesar once stood saying…”Please, lend me your ears…”  The Roman Forum was the heart of ancient Rome, housing the markets, banks, and where kings rested their heads, looking across the city.  It was only until recently that all of the ruins were found.  In the medieval ages, much of the remains were covered with thick foliage and overgrown bushes.  That was news to me, but it makes perfect sense.  After the forum we stopped at the top by another arch which held the first carving of the Jewish menorah.  We snapped a few more pictures and then headed down to St. Peter’s Square.

Walls surrounding the Vatican...

Arch outside the Roman Forum

Our full day in Rome was on Sunday, and a special Sunday in the catholic country of Italy.  It was Palm Sunday which meant that the Pope was leading a mass in St. Peter’s square from the front steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.  Usually, every Sunday, the pope appears from his private apartment window and blesses the people.  However today, during the celebration of Palm Sunday, there were olive branches all over the square and people crowded in from every country listening to the sermon.  There were large projected screens and we could see his figure on the altar with the cardinals at his side.   

The Pope's Palm Sunday Mass

We were close to the back lines of the service where people were sitting, and we were one of the first standing rows.  Our close proximity allowed us to squirm up to the lines and have blessed communion during the Pope’s Palm Sunday mass.  It will be a true live-long memory.  A priest placed the wafer on our tongue and shortly after made the walk back up to the altar.  We stayed to hear the Pope start his many blessings of the Palms in several different languages.  Each time he would speak in a different language, people in the crowd would cheer and wave a flag.  We didn’t hear English before we had to leave and head back to our scheduled transfer to the hotel.  

Pope's private apartment, where he blesses the people every Sunday...

Communion during mass.

It was a wonderful, sunny morning in Rome.  We were the only two in our tour to take the transfer back to the hotel, but we were tired and needed some rest.  A siesta was in store before recouping for a walk downtown.  I have a very difficult time napping, so was awake while Paul snoozed.  Our room was clean, but someone was checking in and waltzed right in the room will Paul snoozing!  Haha, it was startling, and I said “Hello??”  All we heard back was …”excusey” and as quickly as she was in the room she was out.  It was pretty comical.  

We wanted to find some internet in town to have the opportunity to email and blog, so our first choice for free internet is always McDonalds.  We, the classic Americans, asked the front desk where the nearest McDonalds was located and started walking out the door.  When we got there, they didn’t speak any English and we managed to order a cappuccino, muffin, and a small chocolate shake.  That was after accidently ordering two and raising our eyebrows at the big total showing up.  It was an odd exchange followed by the realization that the internet didn’t work.  We ate and left to try to find a restaurant area for dinner.  We ended up taking a wrong routes (later realizing that the man at the front desk was way off on the McDonald’s location) and once we got our directions right, we went down to a small area with restaurants.  It was there that we stopped in front of a church for internet and wandered around for a quick gelato.

We started for dinner around 6-6:30 and shortly realized that everything is closed at that hour.  We walked into a restaurant and they told us they didn’t open until 7PM.  We waiting awkwardly outside the restaurant for 40 minutes and then walked in at 7PM.  We had a wonderful Italian dinner and we had the restaurant to ourselves until we left shortly after 8PM.  We had bruschetta, tomato based pasta dishes, and we experienced the Italian service/sit-down fee and water that costs $3.50 because you have to buy the glass bottle of water.  Overall it was a great dinner, and afterward we walked up the hill about 1-2 miles to our hotel.

It was a wonderful day in Rome.  We could have spent much more time there seeing sites and experiencing the culture.  It is definitely a city that requires multiple visits in order to experience all it has to offer.  Perhaps we’ll have to come back soon!