The Great Ancient Empire

Our Roman hostel was a relatively small place located in a quiet suburban neighborhood around 10 minutes by bus to the Circus Maximus and 15 to the Colosseum. Our host, Marios, gave us an excellent first impression that lasted our whole stay. The hostel, he Hotel Lodi, was definitely a wise choice.

We just so happened to arrive in Rome on St. Peter and Paul Day, a city-wide holiday commemorating the two saints ad shutting down almost all local businesses in the process (including grocery stores and most restaurants). Luckily for us there was a nice take-away pizza place 5 minutes away from the hostel that was open. So Alex and I walked there and purchased our first Roman pizzas of the trip. They have very thin, crunchy crusts and a variety of strange topping combinations, all for a very small price. 5€ for a 6 piece pie? I'll take three!

We headed into the city near the Tibas river where we stumbled upon a huge street fair complete with food stands, trinket tents, and live runway fashion shows. Apparently it was also Bulgarian Fashion Day or something and a troupe of girls has come to Rome to strut their stuff. There was also the most fantastic dried and candied fruit stand I had ever laid eyes on. Alex and I spent a fair number of euros purchasing our evening snacks from them. After, we proceeded down a large flight of stairs to the riverbank to discover a performance that reminded me of amateur hour or open mic night at a bar. The two girls were singing in English and were totally fantastic. I feel that one of them should audition for American Idol some day.

The night bus ride back to the hostel wa insane. The first bus was so quickly flooded with an innumerable mass of Pakistanis that there literally was no more physical space on the bus for us to fit. So we waited 30 minutes for the next bus to take us.

The next two days were filled with walking around Rome seeing all the sights. St. Peter's Basillica and the Pantheon were sights to behold.

 

 

Sometimes it is truly difficult to understand how ancient buildings like that really are. The Pantheon, for example, was remodeled in 400 A.D. to remove the statues of the pantheistic gods and insert monuments to Christ. The building had already existed for around 200 years at that point.

We also celebrated the end of our first month abroad at a lovely restaurant near the fountains of Trevi on the night of July 1st. Let the second half of the trip begin!

The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel were also incredible. I have not heard of another museum on Earth that contains such a ridiculously large array and variety of art and artifacts. Many of these ancient items were actually just sitting on windowpanes to conserve floor space. It was ridiculous. All that art along with the frescos of the Sistine were amazing to witness in person, but that whole Catholic thing sort of detracted from it for me. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the walk through the museum, most likely because I lost interest halfway through.

Tonight we go to pick up our laundry from the laundromat (you have no idea how much I am looking forward to clean clothes) and then we head to the train station to catch our night train to Venice.