Rome

If I hadn't hiked two mountains for four hours the day before, I probably would have had a lot more energy for Rome and been able to soak it up more. However, I still found the city truly riveting. It was unbelievable that any of the architecture that existed so long ago was still standing. Like many other people, I have seen the movie Gladiator, so I thought I knew what to expect from the Colleseum. Also, many people who have been to Rome told me that it was just another city, and that the Colleseum was much smaller than it is made out to be. But when I got inside and saw the ruins of one of the most historical venues in the world, I was taken aback. The inside of the Collesum is unbelievable. You can see how the stadium was separated depending on which class you were a part of. Randall pointed out to me where each class sat and why. I was curious as to why the floor part of the Colleseum went down furthur and it turns out it is because the actual floor part had deteriorated and you could see where the prisoners were kept. Randal also pointed out where the royalty sat and that even though the established people in the society sat down low, they had to build the first level up because sometimes the lions and tigers would jump up above the walls and hurt the people. After we left the Colleseum, we walked through the Forum and saw the remains of the historical town. The architecture was just unbelievable. We all agreed that we wish we could have gone back for a day and lived during the time that this city flourished and just see what it was like. The next thing we did was to visit the Chevy Fountain which was my favorite!! I have a little fountain fetish and seeing this unbelievably elaborate fountain was amazing. Lauren and I threw a penny over our shoulders because apparently that means you will definetly return to Rome.
The train in Rome was a lot different from here in Florence. In general, the entire city was much more touristy and crowded. Randall mentioned that he thinks that Rome just doesnt know what to do with all the tourists. But the train was incredibly crowded and clostrophobic and apparently the easiest place to get pick pocketed. We all held our bags tightly to us. However, a woman told us the day before that her mom had been robbed on a train.