When In Rome...the Sequel

May 30, 2007

I love cappuccinos! The breakfast served at the Hotel Joli included excellent cups of it, accompanied by wonderful breads and jams. We took our sweet time getting ready and didn't actually leave until about 10:30 or so. I bought a pashmina scarf in light blue off the streets, which made me feel really European as I wore it all day :). We were going to just walk by the Castel Sant'Angelo, but it started to rain and we ran inside to avoid the oncoming wetness.

Everyone should take unexpected detours--those always turn out to be the most fun. We wandered up and down its halls for hours in search of fun, and we found it! Ancient paintings, echoing tunnels, and views of Rome that will make your jaws drop--amazing! We walked all the way up to the terrace on top and saw St. Peter's, the Pantheon, and the Seven Hills of Rome from the top. The history of the place is fascinating. It was built by Emperor Hadrian in 139 AD because tombs weren't allowed inside Roman city walls, so he went right across the river and built a huge one in plain sight. Emperors were buried here for at least 100 years, and popes used it as a hideaway when the city was under attack.

We grabbed Italian fast food along the way (two huge slices of pizza, even when I only asked for one), and we got lost trying to find the Pantheon. We ended up by a cat sanctuary (don't ask) in the middle of the street, where we asked an old British couple in bright yellow raincoats how to get there. The lady kept making comments about how it was "good to see Americans traveling again" and such, but she was cute enough that we didn't mind. The Pantheon, when we found it, was well worth the confusion. It has an open hole in the top that spans 70 feet in diameter, and it is absolutely breathtaking! It turns out that it wasn't until Brunelleschi's dome in Florence that people closed up their huge domes--too unstable. It's apparently a very popular hangout when it rains.

We saw glimpes of the Roman Forum, but it had begun to rain again, so we bypassed it in favor of the Colosseum. You should have seen my group's faces when they saw it for the first time! It was beautiful all over again, and we climbed up to the second story in it this time--and the old British couple was there AGAIN! This time they said, in a roundabout way that wasn't so roundabout, that young people take things for granted and don't appreciate history: "thirty minutes to see twenty-five generations--you're improving." Hey, thirty minutes is pretty dang good by tired teenagers in the rain, thank you very much! My group was nice enough to follow me to the Circus Maximus for our last stop, which was where chariot races occurred (Ben Hur, anyone?). Five Colosseums fit into its massive length, and today people jog its grassy paths like they don't realize they're on top of a chariot circle.

Dinner was exceptionally fun--our waiter was a shameless flirt who took particular liking to Bekah and Hillary, and he kept saying that he cooked our food for us himself--he even cooked my salad, apparently :). We ate outside, and it was a great way to relax after a long day of walking and sightseeing. We fell into bed early again, ready to head home to Sansepolcro the next day.