Tourist: Day 2

I was able to sleep through the night, which may just be a side effect of me running myself to the ground for the last few years. Good thing I did, then, because this jet lag is really catching up to several students. My roommates and I got up around 7 AM and hit the hotel breakfast around 7:45.

The day started quick; we got our metro passes and took the metro to the Colosseum. During our ride, a woman was walking up and down the metro cars, wearing all black, with a dark hood covering her face. She seemed like she was chanting while holding up a picture of Pope Francis. A guy near us gestured for us to get out of the way. I got scared and moved quick. Apparently she just wanted money. I felt bad for getting scared but what can ya do. 

As we came out of the subway, Paula, Steve’s wife, started screaming, “THERE IT IS!” Right in front of us, was THE Colosseum. In addition to my years’ of education, a lot of what I know about the Colosseum is from Disney’s Lizzie McGuire Movie, which takes place in Rome. The movie gives the impression that the Colosseum is still a functioning event facility. Even though we were just being tourists today and we’ll be going into the building in depth later this week, I can say right now that the Colosseum is in ruins. It is not a concert venue at all. Nice try, Disney.

After the Colosseum, we took a walk and saw a monument for Italy’s first king. It is also the resting place for Italy’s tomb of the unknown soldier. They have two eternal flames lit all the time as well. The sculptures on the building are larger than life. On the steps to the building, the guards don’t permit people to sit. I’m not sure why but maybe it’s to prevent causal behavior in such a special place. 

Once we took enough pictures, we headed to the Basilica of Truth. The legend says that if you put your hand into the wall and you’re a liar, it’ll chomp your hand off!

We made our way to another major tourist attraction: The Trevi Fountain. Back in the day, these fountains were for the neighborhood to get their water. A bit later down the road, the fountains continued to serve their purpose but they got dressed up by sculptures. I wouldn’t drink the water from the Trevi Fountain these days just because people’s coins are in the water. Tradition says that if you throw your coin into the fountain, you’ll come back. 

A few thousand photos later, we made our way to the Spanish steps. From here, we split ways for lunch. Steve and Paula took me and six other students to a fancy Italian lunch. The food we ate was so good and the people who served it were even better. The server was so friendly and full of energy. He loved his job. 

After lunch, Steve left the students and we went to the Spanish steps. At the top of the steps was another Egyptian obelisk and at the bottom was a fountain designed by Bernini’s father (Bernini was an Italian Baroque artist. We’ll talk about him later). This fountain had little spigots so you actually can fill up your water here! At the steps were all sorts of people trying to sell things. One of the most persistent sellers were those putting roses in ladies’ hands and trying to get them to buy it. 

When we finally made it to the top of the steps, we went back down and visited the Keats-Shelley memorial home. Keats was a romanticist poet who died young. A girl in our group really loved his writings so I’m glad we checked it out for her. 

We went to the Bones Cathedral. It started off as a museum. Since I was tired and thirsty I was just going through the museum at top speed but then I saw a work of art that seemed familiar. It was a painting which may have been done by Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. We’ll talk about him later too. Just know that he is a big deal. When the museum finally ended, we were at the crypt. The crypt used human bones as art. It was way out of my comfort zone; it was making things dark for the sake of making things dark. I wouldn’t go back. 

After walking plenty of miles, it was time to go back to the hotel. The hotel has had a hard time accommodating dietary restrictions. Tonight's meal was meant to have meat in every dish. Steve had a big talk with them about making sure there was food that I could eat. There is one student who is gluten free. For her dessert tonight, she was given fruit that wasn't cut. Delicious. Tomorrow, the studies will officially begin and I am ready!