Rome

After a week in Croatia, we flew to Italy for the second week of our trip. The first city we stopped in was Rome, and within the first ten minutes of walking around a shop owner had given us samples of Limoncello and truffle spread on a cracker. We briefly stopped at the Trevi Fountain on our way to the main part of the city. During our tour of the colosseum, the guide explained that the name “arena” comes from the Latin word for sand (harenae) because they used to put sand on the floor so that it wasn’t too slippery from all the blood. We also learned that there was a door for winners and losers (a Gladiator was considered a loser if he died, so they carried the losers out on a stretcher through a special door). The guide explained that animals were kept underground so that they could be quickly brought up in an elevator for a Gladiator to fight. The ramps that people exited on were named vomitoriums, because it was possible to “exit quickly.” The colosseum was definitely my favorite part of Rome, and I’m glad that we paid for a tour so that we could learn about the history of the colosseum rather than just walking through it on our own.

The next day, we went to the Roman Forum, which was the old city center. We learned about the mythology behind the way that the city was named – two brothers, Remus and Romulus, both wanted to name the city after themselves but couldn’t agree on which brother deserved the honor more. They asked the gods to send eagles to each of them on separate hills, and whoever had the most eagles would name the city after themselves. Each brother ended up with five eagles, but they began arguing that the size of the eagles mattered more than the number. They got into a fight, and Romulus killed Remus before naming the city after himself. After the Roman Forum, we went to see the Pantheon. Unfortunately it wasn't sunny, so we couldn't see the light shining through the ceiling that looks like a pillar, but it was still beautiful.

On our final day in Rome, we took a taxi to Vatican City. We purchased a tour of the museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica, but we had to wait a few hours before our entry time. While we waited, we went to a small shop and ordered pistachio and stracciatella gelato. When it was our time to enter, we arrived at the gates and had a quick tour through all three sites, which were all amazing. My favorite was the Sistine Chapel, because I had studied it in school and could finally see it in person. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the chapel, but it was absolutely incredible and I’m so glad I got a chance to go. We were also able to see a Papal Audience in Vatican City, which was very cool.

Most people who know me well know that I hate pasta, pizza, and bread, so most of the food in Italy wasn’t my favorite. For dinner on our last night, we went to a nice restaurant and I ordered quail stuffed with apricots and pistachios, and wrapped in bacon. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the quail, I was glad I got to try something new and I definitely enjoyed it more than pasta or pizza. We spent the night of New Year’s Eve talking to some Italian girls who shared our Airbnb, then walked around the city watching the fireworks. We had a great time in Rome, and I’m glad we spent part of our holiday break in such a beautiful place!