A Visit to Ancient Rome

The next day, after sleeping in for a bit, Charissa and I checked out of our hostel, checked our bags at the train station, and headed to the Colosseum. We took the metro from Termini to the Colosseum stop—it only took about fifteen minutes tops, and then, we were there. We left the metro station as usual, but as we were leaving the train station, the Colosseum itself gradually came into view. That moment literally took my breath away. It was such an unbelievable site, the way the Colosseum seemed to just pop up in front of us.

What's believed to be old apartments at the Roman Forum.

Charissa suggested that we go to the Roman Forum first, since the ticket would get us in at both the Forum and the Colosseum and the line at the Forum would be far shorter. So we headed a little ways down the street to the entrance to the Roman Forum and waited in line there. It took maybe half an hour for us to get our tickets, and while we waited, Charissa told me more about the architectural background of the Forum. (Charissa, I feel like I should have taken notes on what you were talking about, there was so much info and I wish I remembered more of it!)

Finally, we got into the Forum and started walking around, admiring the remaining structures. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that the Forum is hundreds and hundreds of years old (I think at least a few hundred B.C.), and that Romans walked on the same paths that I was walking. Those are some of my favorite moments of traveling—that moment when you suddenly realize that you're standing on the exact spot that someone from history once stood. Maybe not someone famous, but it's still astounding to think that Romans conducted the mundance aspects of daily life in the very area where I was strolling about, snapping pictures with my digital camera.

The Colloseum, as seen from the end of the Roman Forum closest to this ancient arena.

The inside of the Colosseum, seen from the first level.

Charissa and I walked from one end of the forum to the other, taking a few short breaks to hang out in the shade (it was hot!). When we reached the other end of the forum, the Colosseum was back in view. Although I'd seen it already; walked alongside it on the way to the forum, it was still astounding. Here was a building that had served as the central entertainment facility for thousands of people, hundreds and hundreds of years ago. After walking through the forum, Charissa and I crossed the street to go see the Colosseum. I was quite grateful that we'd bought our tickets at the forum rather than the Colosseum—as we walked straight past the very long line of people waiting to get their tickets to go in.

When we walked through the archway into the inside of the Colosseum, I had to stop for a second, just to take it in. There were tourists everywhere, snapping pictures of the Colosseum and of themselves as everyone walked around the pathway that circled the arena. Charissa and I walked most of the way around the first level of the Colosseum before we headed up to the second level to get a little bit different perspective of the place. As we walked, I tried to imagine what it must have been like in the

past—thousands of people crowded into the stands, watching as gladiators dueled or shows were put on or executions carried out.

The top edge and what would have been the arena's seats.

After visiting the Colosseum, Charissa and I headed back to Roma Termini, the main train station. Charissa's boyfriend, Alex, was coming in for the day, so we were meeting him there. We had to wait a little while for his train to come in, so we got gelato at one of the shops in the station. Gelato is basically the Italian version of ice cream, and Charissa said I had to try some before I left. It is very similar to ice cream, but it's not exactly the same. It's delicious! I loved it, and really just wanted to get some more. Thankfully, Alex's train came in before I indulged in more gelato.

We met Alex at the end of the platform, and then Charissa called her teacher to ask if he had any suggestions for something we could go see, since I only had a few hours left before I had to catch the train back to Besancon. He suggested San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) since it wasn't far from the train station and was worth the visit. So we again hopped on the metro and headed out to see San Pietro in Vincoli. It took a little bit of time to figure out the map and find our way to the church, but it worked out perfectly—we got there just in time for the church to open back up. Like almost everything else in Italy, the church had closed for a lunch break.

Michaelangelo's statue of Moses. 

Thankfully, there was a bit of a crowd there, gathered and waiting for the church to open back up. This was lucky for me, since I was wearing shorter shorts and a tank top—San Pietro had the same dress code as the Basilica, though it wasn't quite as strictly enforced. I managed to slip inside without being noticed by the guard checking people over as they entered. The church itself wasn't overly impressive, but there were two things that stood out: first, there was an enormous statue at the front-right hand side of the church. This statue was in fact a Michaelangelo carving of Moses, which serves as the tomb of Pope Julius II. I guess we've come to expect it from Michaelangelo, but the realism of the statue astounded me.

The other noteworthy aspect of San Pietro in Vincoli was, of course, the chains of St. Peter that are kept there. The church itself was originally built to house the chains used on St. Peter while he was in Jerusalem. When a pope compared those chains to the chains used on St. Peter during his final imprisonment in Rome, the two chains supposedly fused together, forming the one set of chains that are now displayed at San Pietro in Vincoli. Many of the religious sites we visited in Rome made me think of my high school—coming from a catholic high school, I couldn't help but think how many of my teachers would have loved to see this famous religious sites and relics.

After visiting San Pietro, Charissa, Alex, and I headed back to Roma Termini so that Charissa and I could pick up our bags and I could catch my train to France. First though, I had to stop at the bookstore to pick up a copy of a Harry Potter book in Italian. I love collecting the books in foreign languages, and

The chains of St. Peter at San Pietro in Vincoli.

I just knew that I had to get an Italian version before I left. (Now, at the end of my trip, I've collected a few German books, two French books, one Italian book, and one Portugese book. And of course, my own collection of American editions back home).

 The three of us hung out at the train station for a little while, since there was still some time to kill before I had to get on the train. It was nice to just sit and talk—although I still had to laugh about the fact that we were doing so in a train station in Rome, when we live so close to each other back home! Eventually, the time came when I had to go find my seat on the train. I said my goodbyes to Charissa and Alex and then went down the platform to find my spot. It was time to go back to France.