Day in Rome, Italy

Me in front of the Colosseum.
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I got up early and got some free breakfast, which was a bowl of cereal and some prepackage toast. It tasted like toast, but it came in a sealed bag and was more like a cracker than bread. I went to the train station to catch the train to Rome. The train took about two hours and I got into Rome just before noon. It took me about twenty minutes to find my hostel and then the hostel didn't have any room. They had my reservation, but one of the guys messed up and gave away my room. They told me they could book a room at another hostel near by and pay the same price. I didn't had much of a choice, so I went along with it. I had to pretty much walk back to the train station again and it was a few past it. I was definitely exhausted when I got to the new hostel called the Freestyle. I checked in and then I lady at the front desk took me back outside and around the corner to my room. It was in a completely different building. I was just happy to finally have a place to drop my bags off and relax for a few minutes. I did have much time, since I only had a day and a half to try to see nas much of Rome as possible. I headed for the Colosseum and the surrounding ruins. The Colosseum is truly amazing just the shear size and the fact that it is still standing, well at least the skeleton of it is standing. The line to get in was huge, but a guy that worked there said if you wanted to get an English guided tour for only $3.50 Euro, then you could go straight to the front and buy your tickets. I skipped about two hours of the line and for only $3.50 Euro, it was totally worth it. The tour wasn't that great, but you get what you pay for. We heard about the history of the Colosseum, why it was built, the different levels of seats based on status in community, it got the name Colosseum after it was no longer used, and that after the fall of Rome it was scavenged for building materials. This is why the upper walls on one end is missing and most of the iron anchors had been removed causing parts of the wall to crumble. The structure underneath the arena was nine meters deep with passages for the animals and gladiators wait before they entered the arena through trap doors in the floor. So the stuff in the movie Gladiator isn't just a Hollywood face lift. There was a large tunnel in the very center that they past through on their way to the arena from their living quarters across the street. There was lots of wires and lighting being set-up all over the Colosseum, because the next day the Pope was going to show up for Good Friday. After the Colosseum I walked south past the Palatino to the Circo Massimo, which is a large grass area that I think at one stage is where they did some of the crusafixtions. I then walked over to the Fiume Tevere, which is the large river that runs through Rome. I went across at the Isola, which is an island in the middle of the river where a church, a large square building, and some small shops are located. I then headed north to a large group of monuments and buildings. One of them was this huge monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, I think, and it was by far my favorite. It was under some renovation on the front, but I liked the huge brozen statues and marble carving all over it. It had been sprinkling off and on all day, but it started raining at this point in my tour, so I decide head back to the hotel and to see a few more sights on the way. I saw a bunch of ruins, which that I think was ancient Rome. There was also four huge maps on the wall of one of the buildings showing the Roman Empires spread starting from just Rome and covering most of Europe, northern Africa, and the part of the Middle East. I walked by the Colosseum for one last look before catching the metro back to my hostel. I saw a lot of churches and other buildings on my walk. Here is a list of some of the other buildings I saw on my walk around Rome:

The famous Colosseum.
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Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II - Ruins of an old building Santa Maria Maggoire - A large church with lots of statues on outside San Pietro in Vincoli - Church with huge murals on the ceiling Domus Aurea - Ancient building Colosseo - The Colosseum Arco di Constantio - Costantine's Arch Santi Giovanni e Paolo - Church? San Gregorio Magno - Church Circo Massimo - Large grass area San Maria in Cosmedin - Church? Basilica San Anastasia - Church Arco di Giano - Building with four large arches Piazza Bocca Della Verita - Fountain and some buildings with large columns Area Sacra - Ruins of ancient buildings with large columns Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II - My favorite building Colonna Traiana - Large tower with a statue on top Mercati Traianei - Large semi-circular building Ancient Rome - Several old churches and ruins of lots of old buildings and columns After my walking tour, I went to the hostel because they said there was free dinner at 7:00pm when I checked in. I didn't get there until 7:15pm, but they hadn't started eating yet. There was salad and some spagetti that was pretty good considering it was free. I ate until I was stuffed and I met some of my room mates, since I had not be in my room since I checked in and dropped my bags off. One guy was from Detroit and the others were Australian. They had got some beers at the local market and were just going to hang out in the room and drink their beers. I told them I would run to the market and get some beer. Another guy from Detroit, not staying in my room, said he would go with me and get some beer too. We found a shop that had some beer and wine, so I got the cheapest beer they had which was called Three Horses and was imported from somewhere, but it was only $1.50 Euro for 600mL bottles. I got three of the beers and the other guy got a $4 Euro bottle of wine. I enjoyed my beers as they were pretty good, but the wine was very sweet and tasted horrible. Well helped him finish it after we finished our beers, but it still tasted bad after my three beers. We stayed up until midnight just hanging out and talking. A Canadian from next door was hangin out with us and said he was going to try to see the Sistine Chapel in the morning before their train let, so I said I would go with him.

The Colosseum is truly amazing just the shear size and the fact that it is still standing, well at least the skeleton of it is standing.