Our first morning in Rome met us with beautiful weather and a sweet breakfast. We all enjoyed the coffee and thick creamy hot chocolate.
We first had a meeting with Louise, an archaeologist/teacher/writer. After giving us a brief run-down of both modern and ancient history of Rome and Italy, she gave us challenges for the day, to find symbols and marks of Mussolini’s past. As there were no modern history students in the group, the recent history proved very interesting and we were amazed by the fact that Rome had completely wiped Mussolini’s name from monuments, and everything in general.
Our first place to visit was the Spanish Steps. These were absolutely beautiful. The steps were never ending, the building and steps were covered in white marble. The crowds are phenomenal. A fountain lay at the bottom of all the steps in the middle of the road. We sat around the fountain and watched people fill their bottles up and wash their flowers in the water.
Another famous fountain, the Trevi, blew our minds. The size and luxury of this fountain was amazing, the crowds yet again were never ending. The fountain seemed to appear out of nowhere as we walked around a corner into a small square to reveal this marvellous creation. The water was clear and it was great to note that this fountain had the last remaining original aqueduct built by Agrippa in the Augustan age over two thousand years ago.
Our next place to visit was the Colosseum. Here I was able to exercise my Italian on hustlers. No, a-river-der-chi. This structure was awe inspiring, with foundations ten metres deep and covering grounds seven meters longer than it itself. We have learnt how it stood the test of time. Along with Louise, our wonderful tour guide was able to tell us that a major reason for the decline of the buildings and monuments of the empire during the Renaissance period, was people stealing, recycling, and rebelling. It was interesting to find out its history, its various uses, pet names and how it came to be created.
We walked to the Palatine hill, now for Ancient kids, this is like the birth ground of Rome. Romulus and Remus were thought to have settled here, and in recent years, the temple created inside the cave where the she-wolf supposedly nourished them, has been discovered. Although we could not see inside it, it was still amazing. We visited the houses of Augustus and Livia and roamed through various building foundations.
As Ancient History students the Roman forum got us excited. To be able to identify the Curia, various temples and so on was so great. The ruins were on all different levels and different periods of time. It’s mind blowing that archaeologists can infer from the buildings their previous standings, uses and what they looked like.
We then took the LONGEST WALK back to the hotel to get our bags to take to the next hotel.
Funny story though. We got on the Metro, the doors are scheduled to shut only three to five minutes after they open. However, fifteen minutes later we were still, just still. The train had not moved. Mr Rand made the courageous idea to walk back, instead of ride. AS SOON as we got off the train, it closed its doors and left the station. -_-
Dinner, after a walk across Italy, was a bit fancy, and we had well deserved the sleep that night.
X
Alexandra.
