The Events of Friday, March 18, 2011

A dazzling sun and bright blue sky streamed through the window and cast shadows across the room. I knew it would be only seconds before the wake-up call came. But this wake-up call was different. This time Dad said “I got fresh croissants for you guys. Come and get it while they’re still hot.” That is the thing to say to get somebody out of bed and to the table for breakfast. The croissants came in three different flavors, marmalade with chocolate drizzle, chocolate, and cream. Daddy had gotten two of each. Mom and I got dibs on the chocolate while Lindsey and Caitlin split a cream and marmalade with chocolate drizzle between the two of them. Dad had the other marmalade, while Ben had the last cream. It was all really, really yummy. The thick tube of chocolate in the middle of the croissant was a perfect thing to start off the day.

Following breakfast, we took turns going through the shower, having quiet times and getting ready for the day. Soon we packed up and left, leaving our umbrellas behind for the sun was shining. We walked down the street under a perfectly blue sky and walked down into the Metro station. Following our guidebook, we went to the very back of the train so that it was less crowded. Soon we were at the Colosseum stop. Dad was saying as we walked out the door, “We’ll just follow the signs and the crowds to the Colosseum.” No need. As we walked out we were stunned by this huge building in front of us. It looked like all the pictures, but much, much bigger. Suddenly we were attacked by tons of people saying: “Tours in English?” “Guided tours in English of the Colosseum!” “Skip the lines!” Dad was struggling the whole time to find the way to Palatine Hill. We had heard that we would be able to buy combo tickets there without the huge lines. Finally we found what we thought was Palatine Hill. It was a beautiful stretch of a public park. It was very steep, thus making us think that it was the “hill”. However, it was the wrong hill. Finally we figured out that this was not the right place and went back down.

Going to the other side of the Colosseum was a bit of a hike, but finally we reached the line for Palatine Hill, which, although much shorter, was still pretty long. In order to continue, you should know your Roman history inside and out. Since you probably don’t, I’ll tell you a summary. The legend of Rome begins with two twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were orphaned and left in the wilderness. They were taken in by a wolf, which nursed them and raised them. They built a wall, thus creating a city. For five hundred years, Rome was a republic. During this time, Rome was ruled by three hundred elected senators and a code of law. From the beginning, war was the business of Rome. Plundered wealth and slaves made up the economy of Rome.

While Rome was still a republic, Julius Caesar came along, and you all know the rest of that story. His adopted son, Octavian, later renamed Augustus Caesar, conquered his rivals, and established a dynasty to lead Rome. He was Rome’s first emperor. For the next two hundred years, known as Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, Rome experienced a period of peace, prosperity and expansion, while their trade and economy thrived. The Roman Empire was at its peak for a period of three centuries. The emperors built their grand castles on a hill called Palatine Hill, overlooking the Flavian Amphitheater (the actual name of the Colosseum). The arena could seat 50,000 people. The emperors probably enjoyed being so close to the arena because they had special box seats right in the middle, on the ring level. I’ll tell you more about the Colosseum later.

The fall of Rome came about with a series of plagues and epidemics and then their economy failed, for it was even more dependent on booty, which was now not available because the army had conquered all that they could. The booty, to them, was equal to cheap resources, and slaves, who were now not as plentiful due to the same reason, were heavily depended on as well. In the fifth century, Barbarian tribes attacked, looted, plundered and took over the city, plunging Europe into the Dark Ages.

By this time we were through the ticket line, and we had bought our tickets. Once inside, we used the restrooms and headed up the hill. We visited various ruins including Augustus Caesar’s house. On the way, we snacked on granola bars and apples. We exited and then headed to the Colosseum. Skipping the line with our pre bought tickets we listened to the Rick Steves Audio Tour, which led us around the arena. A few interesting facts: in Latin, “arena” means “sand”. Now that the Colosseum is reduced to ruins, you can see the underground workings that would have been covered with boards and six inches of sand to provide the floor of the arena. The arena could hold 50,000 onlookers, from the emperor and VIP’s sitting on marble seats with their names carved in them, to hard wooden benches for the poor at the top of the arena. Animals would be lifted, by elevators using pulleys and such, through any one of 80 trap doors and released into the arena. The fights varied in contestants. Animal fought against animals, or animals against men. There were even men against men. One or both of the contestants died in the fight. The games were free and meant to keep the poor entertained and off the street.

We went as far up as we could in the Colosseum and then went back down, preparing ourselves for the long walk to the Pantheon. Around the back of the Pantheon is a college bar, called Miscellanea. We ate lunch there and enjoyed it a lot. Most of us got paninis, but Lindsey ordered four cheese gnocchi, think of small noodles filled with a cheesy starchy like substance covered in four different cheeses. Daddy ordered real Italian lasagna while Caitlin ordered a rice salad. When we were finished, we found that the Pantheon was closed for mass, so we decided to visit the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain while we waited for it to open. We walked down to the Spanish Steps and walked all the way up. Right when we were taking pictures of the beautiful sunset from this point overlooking all of Rome, it started to rain. We pulled out our jackets and headed down a side street. I noticed a beautiful full rainbow, and, since I love rainbows, took some pictures. Finally, after some problems, we reached the Trevi Fountain. It was still raining, but the sun shone and reflected off this ornate fountain, covered in statues of Poseidon looking things, blowing water out of conch shells and riding dolphins. We were recommended to see it at night, but sunset was just as beautiful.

The rain tapered off as we went back to the Pantheon, past a big stately building with a stripe of green, white and red lights shining on it, just like the Italian flag. When we reached the Pantheon, we found a big crowd outside the door. Soon the doors opened, and we headed inside. At first look, I was overwhelmed. The dome was huge, and, despite what anyone might say, the hole in the top is open and the marble floor was wet due to the rain. We listened to the Rick Steves’ audio tour as we went around the interior of the building. At one point during this time, a choir sang a song in Italian and it echoed around the Pantheon like you wouldn’t believe. On our trip we have seen so many buildings designed after the Pantheon, so, actually being in the real Pantheon was incredible.

When we finished, we found that the nearest Metro Station was by Trevi Fountain. We went back to the fountain to see it at night and bought some roasted chestnuts, which I loved, but the others did not think were so incredible. We ate our warm morsels while admiring the fountain at night, with all the lights shining from below. On the way to the Metro stop, we ran into a crowd around a young street painter, doing a beautiful painting with spray paint. We stopped and watched him do two art pieces, one of blue snowy mountains with waterfalls and colorful bushes, the other one, a rather ominous piece with the planets, a big eye, and the Colosseum. Finally we pulled ourselves away from this interesting procedure and headed to the Metro Stop, which, although called Trevi Fountain wasn’t right at Trevi Fountain. Finally we made it home and, after a dinner of a spoonful of Nutella and a glass of water, headed to bed. Ben calculated that we had climbed over 700 steps and walked over 11 miles. You can imagine that we went to sleep pretty quickly.