Rome - Day One!

Tyler and I were able to go to Italy again this year and it was an absolute dream. We flew into Paris and then took a connection to Rome. We were picked up at the airport and drove to our hotel which was literally two blocks from the Colosseum. It was so surreal to pull into the city and see this ancient structure that I had learned about and seen in movies (in fact, I watched Gladiator on the plane ride over!) That night we had an orientation meeting at the hotel and then had dinner with our group there as well. The next day we woke up and went on a walking tour through the Colosseum. I can't believe that fighting to the death was a sport back then that people were entertained by! We also walked through the Roman forums where they had political meetings and where it was the center of the city. It's the strangest thing to see these ancient buildings amidst the modern Roman city. I think it would be so neat to live a day in the life of a Roman back then.

After our tour we went back to the hotel for a nap and then walked to the Trevi Fountain. It's in such a small area, you turn a corner and there it is smack dab in the middle of a block. We ate pizza for lunch at a little restaurant right up the road and then after a downpour we walked to the Spanish Steps which were beautiful with all of the pink flowers. After walking up the steps and viewing the painters at the top I enjoyed my first gelato. We continued to walk around and then went to a little place down the road from our hotel for spaghetti and lasagna for dinner and then had cookies at a little pastry shop nearby. Our first day was fun-filled!