Day 94
Monday. December 7, 2009.
Taryn and I went to Termini to get our metro passes. The metro line in Rome is super easy because there are only two lines. However, that means a LOT more walking. It’s okay though because there’s history on just about every street. We decided to go see the colosseum first. So we went there and were convinced to take a tour by native English speaking tour guides. Our tour guide for the Colosseum was named Roberto. I wasn’t feeling very well, so I wasn’t exactly enthused by his jokes that just poked fun at different people. Not my type of humor anyway. So of course since I wasn’t smiling, he picked on me from the beginning. He made me go stand next to him and he twirled me around, casting me as a type in ancient Rome. And who might that type be? The woman who sat next to the men of power? The virgin. So from hence forth I was dubbed ‘the virgin’ by everyone in my tour. Fantastic. Please note my sarcasm. I really hate it when all the attention is on me. And Roberto just wasn’t very nice. His tour was more theatrical than informative. Though the colosseum was very cool to see.
Our tour also included a guided tour through the Palatino area. We got a different guide this time named Anthony. He was absolutely brilliant! He was so interesting, and he knew anything you’d want to know historically about the area. And he didn’t even have to make fun of anyone to be entertaining. Palatino was very cool. It was the area the emperors began building their mansions, one on top of the other. In the end, the remains of the building we were standing in were 6 stories high. We got to see some of the original marble used for the flooring still in place. It was cracked, and that was what saved it from being used as marble in St. Peter’s Basilica. Anthony also showed us where the throne sat that sat all of Rome’s famous emperors up until Constantinople. So much history! I wish I could have seen it all in it’s element. I almost think it’d be worth it to build a replica on a different location and show what it would have looked like. It’d still be glorious today.
Anthony then showed us the Roman Forum and ‘The Sacred Way,’ a road all of Rome’s great emperors travelled on to signify their power in Rome. Napoleon had his men try to unearth the road because he wanted to do the same as ancient Rome’s emperors, to signify his power in the world also. However, his men actually unearthed and tossed the actual road. When they realized what they had down, they tried to place it back where they had found it.
After the tour, Taryn and I wandered down to the Roman Forum and The Sacred Way ourselves, and we walked the same road as so many victorious leaders. You could even still see where the chariot wheels had gone before you. It was really a place to twist and ankle or trip and fall flat on your face, though. If you wanted to look around you, you had to stop to look up or you were sure to fall.
For there, we walked toward the tomb of the unknown soldier. On our way there, we passed a poster for a surrealism exhibit. On the poster was a urinal that was considered a fountain; a piece I had had to study in art history. I would have gone to the exhibit if it would have been free. I love surrealism. Right around the corner was the tomb of the unknown soldier, also known to many as ‘the wedding cake.’ Anthony had told us that houses from ancient Rome were perfectly preserved under this memorial, but archeologists were not able to get at them because the memorial was on top. They didn’t realize what they were covering up until after they had built it. It would by mine and any archeologist’s DREAM to unearth that- PERFECTLY preserved! Imagine! Walking right through history’s doors! Amazing. But they’ll only be able to get at it if/when the memorial collapses. So, not so likely.
On our way back to the hotel, we decided to walk back via the Trevi Fountain. We found it pretty easily, incredibly crowded. I can’t imagine what it must be like during prime-tourist-time. I tried my best to count to three in Italian and threw my coin in with a wish, in hopes also that I may return to Rome one day.
We also walked by Republica on our way back. I have no idea what it was, but it was beautiful. Especially when it was all lit up at night. We stopped in Termini and ate at Roadhouse Grill. It sort of reminded me of Texas Roadhouse because they had peanuts on the table and all. But they were missing the best part of Texas Roadhouse- the rolls! So not quite as good, but at least I got some protein from the ribs! =)
