Wednesday, May 18
Complimentary breakfast? Hell yeah! Score one for Hotel Centro. For being so small, they have the means to provide a free meal in the morning for their guests. I blazed down the three flights of stairs to the dining area searching for something warm. I was greeted with an assortment of croissants and donuts, slices of bread, an array of ham and cheese slices, a rotating dispenser of two choices of cereal, corn flakes or oat bran, fresh whole fruits (apples, oranges, pears and bananas,) and of course, an instant coffee machine. I grabbed a pastry, some fruit and made a cappuccino from the machine. "It's no eggs and bacon, but it'll do."
Our travel guide met us in the hotel lobby and led us towards our sights for the tour. Another long day of walking ahead of us.
Roman Forum
A step decline led to the area of the Roman Forum. Since it's a valley, they must have had terrible flooding!
It's incredible to think that these now ancient ruins were once the same cobblestone grounds that the likes of Julius Caesar walked hundreds of years ago. The Roman Forum is comparable to our downtown city hall. Public addresses, trials, and government decisions were made here.
Many of the deteriorated stone pillars that were withered away by the erosion and the elements over time once stood as pure marble. I asked our guide where the Romans got the resources to build such grandeur constructions and she said they had a great trading system with other powers of the world at the time such as Greece, who were producers of marble.
It's like Disneyland...only less commercialized. People don't come here for created fantasy entertainment. They come here to learn, to gain insight, and to enlighten others.
Coliseum
One of the icons of Italy, where the gladiators fought and thousands of spectators shouted in triumph.
What interested me the most about this giant amphitheater was that the ancient Romans kept slaves. (I listened in closely when this was brought up.) Our knowledgeable tour guide explained that the wealthy members of society used their slaves to play as the gladiators in these dangerous games- often against their will. They had no choice, and their lives were put in grave danger all for the sake of the sport. Sorry Romans, I disprove of what you call "fun".
Trevi Fountain
The Fontana di Trevi was the most crowded site we visited today. SOOO many people, plus it was hot- not a good combination. Everyone was holding up their selfie sticks shoving people to get a seat on the fountain's rim for the perfect shot.
I didn't need to toss in a coin to bring me back to Rome, as the myth foretells. I'm certainly coming back!
Being by the fountain's water didn't cool any hot temper's off. Like I said, it was humid and we were tired and hungry, consequently, tensions rose. This was expected sooner of later; being in a group of mixed personalities some are bound to clash. We split in two and a few students continued to walk the rest of the way back to the hotel and others took the metro. (I, of course, opted for the public transportation. It was cool inside the train station and dropped us off a block away from our hotel.
Wine Tasting at Roscioli's
Sophisticated glasses in the dainty hands of aristocrats and socialites at a classy gathering comes to mind when I think of wine. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, but if I do have a little spirit with dinner my preference is always something sweet like a pink moscato or blackberry merlo.
We sampled eight kinds of wine- four whites and four reds, each came with a delicious morsel to pair with. The food and wine complemented each other, enhancing both of their flavors. Alessandro, owner of Roscioli's wine shop, was so passionate about his practice! He knew everything and anything about wine from harvesting the grapes, to the various regions in Italy for vineyards, to the labeling of individual bottles. |
Italians (or wine experts) might say I have an uncultivated palate because I only enjoy sweeter drinks. I don't know about all that...but it's true, I didn't find any of these wines captivating. Luckily, I wasn't the only one in our squad who was less than enthused about the selection. However, I did enjoy the food pairings: Buffalo chutney ricotta, anchovies, and the best damn pesto I've ever tasted!