The Colosseum!
Today was the day I saw the Colosseum and Roman Forum. It
was an early morning, but that meant it was cool at the beginning of the day.
Our bus took us around the north side of the Colosseum (the beautiful side) and
then around the back to drop us off. We split into two groups. We were told
some history while we waited for our headsets to arrive. The headsets were
great once we got them because we were able to hear everything the guide was
saying without being directly in front of him, something which has been a
problem in the past when I’ve been on tours. We were told though that we had to
hide out headsets as we entered the Colosseum because we didn’t have the right
tickets. Luckily I didn’t end up in Rome prison.
Gladiators used to fight behind me
To say that the Colosseum is huge is an understatement. The architecture
is superb. It’s hard to imagine it being built so long ago when we have nothing
like that in the states. Two outer walls
collapsed on the south side from people taking the iron/metal away from the supports.
The north side still exists because the Pope could see it from his window and
wanted to keep it.
On the lower level
Inside the colosseum we were able to the inside on several
different levels. There is so much history there you can feel it radiating from
the walls. We were also able to get close to the lower level to see where the
stage would have been where the gladiators would have fought. It’s hard to even
explain how amazing it was.
The Roman Forum in the background
After the Colosseum, we went to the Roman forum which was
also amazing although more in ruins than the Colosseum. We saw where the vestal
virgins lived and where Julius Caesar’s body was burned after he was stabbed to
death by the senators. It’s hard to imagine people milling about there listening
to political speeches.
We ended out tour by walking up a flight of stairs to see
the capital hill with a giant statue in the center of Marcus Aurelius. It’s a replica
of the original bronze statue, but the bronze statue is the only bronze statue
that wasn’t melted down but is now housed safely in a museum.
What made my trip to the Colosseum and Form so memorable was
the red umbrella tour guide. He was hilarious and very to the point. Always
standing in the shade while still allowing us our picture time, but he wasn’t
afraid of leaving you behind. He really made the visit worthwhile.
The afternoon I had my first workshop, since the other one
had been more of an introduction, and I was a little nervous. I wanted to make
sure I was contributing. I felt better as the two hours went on and thought I
had some good comments. I guess I was nervous because in the previous workshop
I had said I would have liked to have known that the piece I was reading was
Creative Non-Fiction and I felt like I was kind of jumped on- like why did it
matter what genre is fell under- so going into today I was a little
apprehensive, but that apprehension soon melted away. There was a lot of
stimulating conversation. Conversation which I’ve missed since Warwick, so it’s
nice to have it again. I feel complete.
Our final lecture of the day was on the Italian sonnet which
I found quite interesting. There were some really cool things to think about
with the progression of the sonnet and seeing how it has been transformed
through the ages.
My evening closed with a sit down meal with more Spalding
students at a nice restaurant right across the street from the previous night’s
dinner. They had very friendly waiters. I ordered ravioli with ricotta and spinach
in tomato sauce. It was super good – not too cheesy.
Dinner
As dinner wrapped up I was feeling very well. I think I had
too much heat in the morning so I returned to my room to cool down, relax and
catch up on work. As I finish this I’m watching Italy take on Germany for Euro
2016, a game not only our tour guide mentioned but also our waiter.
Italy just scored a goal and we could hear the horns and
shouts of joy from the room.
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