Day 2 in ROME

Our second day in Rome began with a free breakfast at our hostel. Italians do not have any elaborate morning meals. Instead, they usually start their day with a pastry and coffee. Clearly, our meal was in this style:

Croissants, pastries, hot cocoa, and OJ

A bright blue sky and a beaming sun made me even more excited to be spending the first part of Friday in the Ancient City! We decided to walk the 40 minutes from our hostel to the Colosseum. It wasn't too tricky to find. I mean, it's pretty big...

I see you!

Visiting the Colosseum was definitely one of my favorite parts of the Rome trip. It was just so massive and overpowering. This building was able to seat 50,000 spectators, and could be efficiently filled in only several minutes. Fenway Park is pretty sweet, but this big guy was a bit cooler.

Turns out I'm not the first Isakowitz to pose in front of the Colosseum. Recognize these young lads?

My uncle and Dad!

We spent a good hour walking along the different levels of the building. The line to get in only took about twenty minutes, another perk about visiting during the tourist off-season.

Fossils of animals who fought in the Colosseum

Following the Colosseum, we continued exploring the Ancient City. We saw Palatine Hill, Capitoline Hill, the Roman Forum, the Appian Way, Arch of Constantine, and the beautiful scenery.

Doesn't this remind you of Lion King?

Walking around the ruins for hours worked up our appetites. We ate outside at a pizzeria, and I must say, pizza in Rome was even better than pizza in Florence. The dough was thin and crunchy, yet the gooey cheese didn't soak through it. The sauce and the cheese melded together so they tasted like one ingredient, and artichokes on top was absolutely a good choice. Dominos and Papa Johns has nothing on this Italian creation.

I remember this meal being particularly wonderful. The outdoor meal let me soak in the Roman sunshine and watch the Italians (and tourists) walking around. I was wearing my new blue tunic which I felt channeled a Mediterranean vibe and was reminiscent of Julia Robert's look in the Italy portion of Eat Pray Love (I really liked that book, if you haven't been able to tell already). Lauren and I didn't stress about school or internships or other weighty issues; instead we just enjoyed the day and appreciated life. I hope everyone finds time in their week to do the same, whether in the States or Italy (although if you can, I'd recommend doing so in Italy ;-)).

Right by our restaurant was our next stop: the Pantheon. Built in 126 AD, this structure still boasts the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

The oculus

This temple also contains the tomb of the artist Raphael. his epigraph reads, "Here lies Raphael, by whom Mother Nature feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die." Impressive, no?

Raphael's tomb

We continued walking and checked out the Spanish Steps in Piazza de Spagna. Scaling the 138 steps to the top was nothing in comparison to the 414 steps to the top of the Campanile.

Spanish Steps

View from the top of the steps

 The weather was so nice that we spent a good hour just sitting on the steps and soaking in the sunshine.

Our feet finally got a rest when we took the metro back to our hostel for a late afternoon nap. For dinner, we met up with our guy friends (same ones who came to Prague with us) and a new friend we made at our hostel (who goes to Northeastern, of course) and dined at a nearby restaurant. We ordered bread and wine for the table, and I personally ate a yummy gnocci and a spectacular tiramisu.

After dinner, we decided to get our dance on in the neighborhood of Testaccio. The club Alibi provided fun music and dancing for a few hours.

We only got a few hours of sleep Friday night because we had to get up early for our Saturday trip to Pompeii. Prepare for my fourth and last Italy post...