We boarded our 4 buses complete with our own tour guides that will be with us throughout the whole trip. We made our way down to the city center and got off for our tour of the ancient Roman ruins. We met a local tour guide (apparently Italy is very strict about their tour guides. You have to be certified and take test to be able to guide in various places so our permanent guides aren't legally able to guide us around. It's not that they don't know what to say, its that they aren't certified in Rome. They'd get a pretty hefty fine. Weird...) Anyway, we met our guides and were equipped with our personal set of "whispers." This ingenious little devise is a microphone hooked up to a portable transmitter that the guide speaks into. We get a small box receiver and a head phone. This way the tour guide doesn't have to shout over a crowd and everyone in the group can hear what they're saying. So smart!! We started at the coliseum and walked around taking in this colossal piece of architecture. Words can't describe the sheer size of it and to think that it was perfectly constructed without the modern day tools we use to build today is unbelievable. From there we made our way through the city and saw the old roman forum and many other pieces of ancient Rome that have been discovered and restored over time. We concluded our guided tour with a formal look at the Pantheon. While some of us who arrived early yesterday had already been there, our local guide was able to give us some new information about how it was built. The roof is a perfect sphere that holds itself up with know internal support. These Romans really knew how to build!!
After our guided tours we were given free time in the city. Imagine 160 Alabamaians loose in a foreign city...It's awesome!! We scattered to find places to eat and shop. As promised, the gilato is out of this world. I had some nutella choclatey thing today that made me want to move here permanently just for that. From there people went to the Spanish steps, the trevi fountain, the vatican, and everything in between. My little group went straight to St. Peter's basicalla. Even though we're going as a group tomorrow, we won't have a lot of time so we wanted to make sure we could see everything. The oppulence and magnificence of this building is beyond my imagination. The huge space is adorned with so much art, sculture, sold gold statures, and more things I'm sure I missed. We decided to take on the challenge of going to the top of the dome. 700 steps later through some of the tightest corridors we found the most incredible view of the city. You could see for miles in every direction and was definitely worth the effort.
The evening was left up to everyone to find food and things to do. Even though we had a lot of time today, you could spend a week here and still not see everything. The staff, directors, and GTAs went to a restaurant tonight that just kept bringing food. There was an onslaught of appatisers that lasted for 30 minutes. followed by a pasta course, a meat course, and finally some of the best desserts I've ever eaten!!! The Romans also know how to cook! The past is al dente so it has a little more bite but the sauce is definitely much better than the ragu or prego I'm used to!!!
All in all today was a fantastic day in the capitol city! Lots of history, pictures, sights, sounds, and tastes that will last forever in our brains!! Tomorrow morning we head to the Vatican for an organized tour of the museum, the Sistine Chapel and the St. Peters. Then it's time for our first performance with the wind ensemble in Rieti. We're sharing the concert with another band from here in Italy. I promise I will get pictures up in the morning for you guys but I don't know when I'll be able to post tomorrow. We leave straight from our tour to the concert and then a reception so we won't be back here until 1am our time. I'll try to get something up the next morning! Thanks for reading and I'll be in touch again as soon as I can! Ciao!
- Marea Rotolare
Location:Rome. Italy
Wow! I didn't realize you guys would have so much sightseeing time! That's so awesome. Adam, us poor parents are taking this trip vicariously through you, so don't leave anything out! I love your vivid descriptions! Have fun today!
ReplyDeleteThank you much for your time and effort in putting out these posts. We look forward everyday to the highlights. Speaking of Highlights, and please share with the others, the Bama Lady Softball team was the Number One ESPN Sportscenter highlight: the left fielder made a diving catch of a sinking line drive and then threw to first to double-up the runnner.
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