Italy Day 3

Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming. I'm still waiting on a comment from one person though. I won't call out names but her name begins with an "M" and ends in an "aggie". I noticed all fothe typos in my last enrty. So, I tried to clean it up this time. But it si 230am in the mourning. Heres day 3!


Monday, April 16:
We woke up to Kristina knocking on our door yelling, “Get up its 8 o’clock!”. We were supposed to be up at 7. Oh well. This was the beginning of many acts of tardiness for our group. We scrambled and got dressed and took our showers just in time to get the last of the breakfast. Which was the normal bacon, eggs, and cereal. However, they had these big pieces of melba toast that I loved. I grabbed a whole bunch of them for snacks that I could eat during the day. We got on the bus and started driving towards the center of Rome. It was here where I began to get to know my cousin Tommy Alsip ( a little too well-the guy is crazy), because we sat by each other on the bus. But, he is one of the funniest people I know. We got off the bus and onto to the busy busy streets of Rome. There are very few traffic lights, no pedestrian walkways, and no lines on the street. Traffic is mayhem compared to American standards, thousands of little vespa scooters, mini coopers (which were a normal thing over there because they were part electric and very small), Alfa Romeos, and other sports cars, all of which drive as fast as they want and use up every space of street possible. We got off the bus right in front of the world famous coliseum. At the coliseum, tourist had the chance to fight gladiators, which were actually just Italian dudes dressed up in a gladiator costume. My brother, who never backs down from a fight, decided he should spar with one of the gladiators. So, my brother forked over the 13000 lire (about $7 at the time) to a willing challenger and began to fight as onlookers took pics of the big American guy fighting a wimpy European man in an outfit. As the last picture was taken my brother was surprised by the gladiator, who snuck up behind him, and Matt received plastic sword to his throat in a blink of an eye. This made Matt jump. And also Chris caught Matt jumping on film. So, we all concluded that the gladiator won the fight, since he had the last laugh. The coliseum, like everything else in Italy, is very pretty and you can feel the history of the place. We then all walked through the streets of Rome to see the Trevi Fountain. Which is also an unbelievable sight. The sculptures of the fountain are awesome. Every corner you turn in Rome there is some great work of art, architecture, or ruins of the Roman civilization. Where the streets of Rome are today are actually about 10 feet above the ancient streets of Rome. Throughout the years Rome was literally built on top of itself. The group I was with was led by Dr. Alsip and Mr. Sims, two very cool guys. Mr. Alsip added the facts and history of the places we will visit while Mr. Sims added the comic relief and jokes. We traveled around stopping at major churches and seeing many religious relics and artifacts like the finger of St. Thomas the Doubter, the thorns of the Crown, the spear head that went through Jesus’ side and the INRI sign that was placed on top of the Cross , and even the mummified body of St. Pius IX (who was about 4 feet tall). We then tried to eat lunch of what looked like a nice restaurant. We had to leave early because of time restraints and plus all of the food tasted like fish. This act of leaving early pissed off the waiters. Oh well. We looked around some more and shopped for souvenirs. It was very fun spending time with everyone and seeing the great city of Rome on foot. Mr. Alsip then took a small group of us to see the Pantheon. Once a Greek temple, then it became a Catholic Cathedral and now it’s a big building. We instantly got lost looking for the Pantheon for 2 hours. We gave up and turned around and started walking back. As we were running back toward the place where we were supposed to meet the bus we ran right into the square that the Pantheon was in. The Pantheon very much resembles an ancient Greek temple. It was once covered in bronze, but the bronze was stripped from its outer wall to make the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. Due to hour two hour tour we had no time to actually visit the place. So we all just ran (yes we were running by this time) by the building. It was fun running the street as night was beginning to cast shadow through the narrow alley ways and piazzas of the city. I remember thinking to my self while running, “I will never forget this.” It was literally like a scene out of a movie. The sky was beginning to go into a dark blue shade and the shops and kiosks that sat in the square began to turn on their lights as shoppers still browsed and looked at souvenirs. People were beginning to take seats for a long Italian dinner at the many eateries and cafes. What made it better was having friends running by my side that were seeing the same thing I was. Also, many corners in Rome have ancient drinking fountains that constantly pump out fresh water for anyone who wants a drink. The fountains are fueled by the ancient Roman aqueducts that are still functioning today. And the water is still very sanitary and good enough for any visitor to drink. We ended up arriving at the bus on time. And eventually all groups were accounted for and we left for another night in Hotel Purgatory. We ate at the same restaurant. This time we were a little more happy and cheerful because we all had gotten some sleep and had a great day. We all talked about our adventures of that day and the sights that we saw. I forgot to mention two major aspects of the Italian meals. One was the bread and olive oil that was served at every meal we ate. The bread was great and very very hard, but when dipped in olive oil it is unlike any bread I have tasted here. And the other was what everyone had to drink. If you were rich enough to get coke then you got cold coke with no ice. However, to save money, many got either water or carbonated water with their meals. Many, especially my brother, enjoyed having the carbonated water as an option for a beverage. I didn’t like it too much. But when in Rome do what the Romans do...haha….uuh… sigh. This dinner was very much like the dinner the night before, I think there was a different pasta but nothing too special. It was fun hearing everyone stories of the day. After eating we all headed back to the hotel to get ready for bed. We had some free time before bed so everyone hung out in the lobby or the courtyard and chatted. Eventually, my group made back to our rooms where began to torment Nick and anyone else who let their guard down. The funniest thing we would do was to make the bed collapse as someone laid down to sleep. The beds had fold-in legs because they were portable. We would fold in the legs just enough to make the bed stand. However, when someone laid down in it, the weight of the person would cause the legs to fold in all the collapsing the bed to the floor. It was great to watch. It was also fun to have it done to you. After hours of playing with the beds, we decided to throw candy out our window to the girls window across the courtyard. This scared the crap out of the girls. They thought it was some crazy Italian guys that they ran into earlier in the day. Throughout the trip all the girls found out that if you look an Italian guy in the eye it means that you are dating and that he will make sure he will see before the day is over. Eventually, we all fell asleep.