Rome, Italy

Without question Rome is one of my favorite places I've been. Yes, I am a bit of a history buff who is drawn to all things historical. Yes, throughout the trip I caught myself—on more than one occasion—ambling around the ancient city with my eyes wide and mouth hanging open, accurately mimicking the gaping expression of a freshly snagged large mouth bass. But the history of this city is such that can be appreciated by all! Two thousand years ago Rome was the center of the entire world! It was home to a people that marked the turning point of technology and thought! Much of what they discovered is still with us and used today! You can see this excites me and yet I can scarcely begin to describe the sheer wonder experienced while strolling leisurely past the Pantheon, seeing its Corinthian columns lining the façade and the great dome bulging into the sky, perfect and round as a glass marble. Or what it is like to walk over the black stoned roads that snake through the impossibly narrow streets, buildings rising up high on your either side and casting you in their shadows. Or better yet what it feels like to see Constantine’s Arch located near the grandness of the Colosseum, a structure that in and of itself is enough to thrill me to the point of hyperventilation! This is what is so wonderful about visiting a place like Rome. The history there is breathtaking. Even if history is not your thing, you can’t help but be fascinated by the wonder of these two-thousand year old structures that are still standing throughout the city as if having arisen suddenly from a different world. In fact, I have yet to meet a person who has stood before any of the fore-mentioned buildings that was not rendered incapable of speech as well as the use of their eyelids.

I traveled to Rome during my month-long study abroad trip in college. Rome was the starting point and from there we went on to Florence, Venice, and Milan, stopping in a few other key cities along the way. But as I said, Rome was my favorite. I was sharing a hotel room with a friend and the night before our first day of class we made sure to set an alarm so as not to be late the following day. Trusting blindly in said alarm we went to sleep only to be awoken the next morning not by the chiming of the clock, but by a pounding on the door. I sat up off my bed like Lazarus, blinking at the static door in confusion. That’s when I looked at the silent alarm clock and was nearly undone with undulating panic. It was 9 o’clock. The exact time we were supposed to meet downstairs to leave! After launching myself towards the door and assuring the girl there my roommate and I would be down shortly, we tore about our room with single-minded intent, throwing on our clothes without the slightest bit of thought before racing down the stairs to where our entire class stood waiting. It was not a very glamorous entrance, to say the least.

Luckily we were spared by our professor and were able to attach ourselves silently to the end of the group, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Over the next few days we woke up not only on time, but early, and visited all the best sites Rome has to offer, following our British professor faithfully like goslings to their mother, never straying too far from her side as she lectured us on the history of the places we were seeing. We went to the Palatine hill to see the ruined homes of ancient Rome's emperors and nobles, in the process passing by the ruins of the Circus Maximus. We went to the Palazzo Navona and walked through the area that played as the town square during the 15th and 16th centuries and a gaming area in ancient times. In fact, the marble benches used during these ancient games still survive behind the façade of the existing building which is now used as a church. We went inside St. Peter’s Basilica and got to witness a small mass taking place, the droning sound of chanting male voices and the scent of incense all adding to the ambiance of the space. We also went to the Vatican Museum where we saw Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. He painted the ceiling himself as well as the entire back wall which depicts the final judgment. This scene was completed near the end of Michelangelo’s life and so has a much grimmer feel to it than that of the ceiling. The line into the Vatican museum was over an hour long but totally worth the wait in my opinion. We visited many museums during our time in Rome, entered many old basilicas, and wandered through many of the old, elegant homes once inhabited by the Italian elite.

We did so much, in fact, that there simply wasn’t enough time to see everything, more specifically, the Colosseum. As far as I was concerned, this would not do. The Colosseum is one of the main reasons to go to Rome after all! Anyone who has seen Gladiator will agree with me. So with that said, a few friends and I took it upon ourselves to visit the grand arena alone. It was everything one could hope for. The floor no longer exists and one can clearly see the maze-like compartments below that once held the slaves and animals intended for battle. The animals included lions, tigers, and the like and would be kept in the dark so that when they were let onto the main floor they would not be able to see properly and thus be easier to kill for the gladiators. Pretty gruesome, really, but interesting nevertheless. We spent quite a lot of time there in the Colosseum, marveling at the hugeness of the structure and what had taken place there, until all at once the skies darkened as if the clouds had been summoned there by Zeus himself.

Not at all keen on being caught in the rain, my friends and I left the ancient amphitheater without further ado. We raced through the streets, umbrellas at the ready, and thought we were in the clear when disaster struck, literally, and it began to pour as if a giant water balloon had burst above our heads. Now keep in mind this was summer, it was supposed to be sunny and warm and here it was a torrential downpour with gale-force winds! I opened my umbrella in a desperate attempt to protect myself from the water hurling down on me only to have it turn itself inside out with enough force as to almost wrench it completely from my grasp. There was no helping it and I’m sure I looked like Mary Poppins caught in hurricane Katrina the way I was waving the mangled umbrella about, struggling madly to right it again. My efforts were met with little success, however, and by the time we got back to the safety of our hotel I looked like a proper drowned rat. Worse than that, actually. My hair was drenched and hanging in my face, stringy and clinging like that depraved angry girl from The Ring who hauls herself out of her well every time someone happens upon her avant-garde home video.

We did make it back, though, and after I had hosed down my hair with clean water and thoroughly dried, my friends and I went to the hotel restaurant where we gorged ourselves on wine and pasta. The food is another perk of visiting not just Rome, but all of Italy. It was to die for! Now, I am indeed an avid pasta connoisseur, but not so much a wine drinker. But Italian wine is another story altogether. Not only is it cheaper than drinking water, but it tastes fabulous! Pasta is a must, of course, as well as the pizza. I wish I could tell you the names of all the quaint little places we found throughout our many nights of exploration, but alas, I cannot recall a one of them. And yet, I can still taste the fresh olive oil that was always served with bread prior to every meal. Yes, if you are the rare breed who cannot be bothered with the marvelous splendors of the ancient world, you must come to Italy if for nothing else than for the food.