Our First Day in Rome--by Zach

Text by Zach, Photos by Kelli

At the Colosseum

Today started for me at midnight, as it did for many of us as we grappled with jet lag. My sleep schedule last night was one typically condemned in normal situations consisting of a long sleep followed by intermittent sleep when I could, but then again, taking a trip to Rome is not normal. Nevertheless, most of us managed to sleep well enough to propel us into the day, which was evident through our high energy at breakfast. As we walked to the metro stop to buy our tickets and use the Italian metro for the first time, we were abuzz about the packed itinerary for our day. 

Walking to the Forum to pick up our tickets

After managing to use the subway system albeit with a few close calls of barely fitting on in time, we exited the stop only to walk directly into the Colosseum: we had been dropped directly into the most history-rich section of Rome. 

The Colosseum

Our adventures began with a few photos while we waited to get into the Colosseum, followed by the Colosseum itself. The sheer magnitude of wonders of the world are never entirely captured by photos, and the Colosseum was no exception.

The Colosseum

Outside the Colosseum on our way to the Forum

After an hour of exploring the magnificent structure, which involved navigating for stairs that actually survived the ravages of time, we moved onto the Forum. 

The Forum

The Forum is perhaps the epicenter of ancient culture, and it showed through the multitude of buildings and their varying purposes. What was particularly striking was the gravity the different sites were treated with in modern day, but the nonchalance that they probably exuded in their prime. In other words, time alone has completely shifted how the populace interacts with the pieces.

The Forum with the Colosseum in the distance

The Palatine Hill overlooking the Forum

After taking pictures of the phenomenal view from the top of the Palatine hill, we headed to a nearby marketplace for lunch [Campo de' Fiori].  There we ate fantastic food, saw types of pasta that would never materialize in an American market, and saw many well behaved dogs that always left us cooing (although we heeded the warnings to not interact with animals). What I myself particularly found so refreshing about my meal, and roman food in general thus far, was that it did not attempt to appeal to the organic, artisan food marker that is all too familiar to those of us in Seattle. Instead, the food mostly kept to the basic, simple ingredients and did them well. This meant a sandwich with only a meat and a cheese, or a simple fruit cup. 

Artichoke season at the market

At the Campo de' Fiori

We ended our day with a visit to the Capitoline museum, which I admittedly was too tired to capitalize upon fully.

The Capitoline Museum

Remus and Romulus and the Capitoline Wolf 

The Capitoline Museum

 I did, however, enjoy the art I did see, and the day continued into the Trevi fountain, which naturally saw us all engage in the arguably trite tradition of throwing the coin over our shoulder into the fountain. 

Trevi Fountain

We then went to our final destination of the Spanish steps, which mostly turned into yearning after designer clothes we could only dream of buying, and being approached by a bevy of merchants looking to sell us their laser pointers (one man mistakenly assumed Telly's name to be Kevin, and referred to him as such no less than 6 times throughout the 2 occasions we encountered him). 

The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps

We ended the day with a general Italian restaurant, and went back to our hotel rooms, eager yet again to sleep.