Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill

Sunday was a very full adventure.

8:30 a.m., 5 of us left and experienced the metro system for the first time. The trains are different than the U.S. in many ways. Rome can not have a subway because a lot of ancient Rome is still underground waiting to be uncovered. Also for the buses and trains, tickets are 1 Euro each. You are supposed to / expected to stamp your card as your board the train or bus. It is not required. However, people do occasionally come around and check. If you are caught without a ticket it's a 150 Euro fine. I'm playing it safe, but it doesn't seem like the

most efficient system.. However, the Trastevere train ride was smooth and easy to navigate.

We got to the flea market which was about a mile stretch of road crammed with tables full of .. crap. I was told there were treasures to be found, but I did not discover any for myself. Most of the stuff looked as if it had 'fallen off the back of a truck'. After about an hour of wandering, we all wound up purchase-less and hungry.

We had full Irish breakfasts at a pub nearby, and then rushed off to meet the group from JFR

C touring the Colosseum area. Our professor that led the tour is the equivalent (I think) of a European Peyton Manning - good looking, and you have to like the guy ->

We started at Palatine hill, which was incredible. It is one of the most ancient parts

of the city and looks over the Forum.

Palatine Hill - the Palace on the Hill. According to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was where Romulus and Remus were found. When they were older they decided to build a city on the Tiber River, had an argument and Romulus killed his twin - "Rome" got it's name from Romulus. Fun Fact # 12. We were able to see the ruins of the palaces of Augustus, Tiberius, and Domitian. There was also a Chariot Race Stadium that could hold almost 300,000 Romans.

Next was the Forum - Temples, Arches, Basilicas and more all still standing, or at least partially still standing. Even more yet to be uncovered.

By the time we were done exploring the Forum, our longwinded guide had talked past 4:00 and the closing time of the Colosseum. He made it up to us by buying each of us a beer at a nearby pub. How many people can say their professor bought them a beer?

Walking from the market in the morning, on our way to meet up with the group we turned a corner and BOOM. There was the Colosseum. Not something you can miss easily. I'll definitely be back to explore the inside, to take a picture for Aunt Connie, and to get the full experience.

Beers on Dr. Evers was something very memorable as well. Annie and Mike - shown in the picture, and myself were all separated from the group on our way back to the JFRC and wandered the streets of Rome. We had dinner and explored and ended up at the Pantheon, which was quite a hike. Tomorrow is the mass of the Holy Spirit, which is at the church of Saint Ignatius, near the Pantheon, so I will be sure to get a good picture or two.

Today I found out that I was accepted on the trip to Tuscany in April. It includes transportation, food, a place to stay, wine tasting, olive oil tasting, and a cooking class. It was my first choice, and I was very excited to have been chosen from the lottery. Because I'm not going on the Tunisia trip for spring break, I was fairly sure I would get my first choice. Shane and I will be spending the weekend before finals there together. It was also posted last night that the Sicily trip (my second choice) had 3 open spots. Conor, Annie, and I camped out at the business office this morning and were given the final 3 spots. Valentine's Weekend I will be with the majority of my friends in Sicily - I'm very excited. This motivated me to finalize my trip to Florence this weekend, and my trip to Ireland at the end of Spring Break. After we leave Anne Marie and Nick, Mike and I are going to the Wales/Ireland Six Nations Rugby game.

Nothing else to report. Classes are so far so good. Italian, Lit (Writing Intensive), History, and Human Rights (Service Learning). I'll be assigned my service site this week for my service learning course - very excited to find out where I'll be placed. It could be anywhere from a refugee center to a soup kitchen to tutoring kids in English.

No classes tomorrow! I signed up for a Wednesday Calcio (kal-cho) league - Calcio means kick. Yes, I will be playing in the soccer league. Last year I was responsible for my team's 2 handballs, but it's more of a social thing.. 'When in Rome..'

LOVE LEX