Lenny here. I'd like to start by saying that we are still very much jet-lagged, accomplishing 3 hours of sleep each of the past two nights. Today has been both the most strenuous, longest and andrenaline-fuelled day thus far.
We started the day in our usual Roman manner, leaving our hostel eating a breakfast of and apple and banana as we make our way to the local train station a few hundred meters away.The weather was un-expectedly cool and windy, and didn't really warm up until 2 pm, despite clear skies and bright sun all day.
Today consisted of 3 tours: the Roman Fora tours; the Vaitcan and religious tours; ending with a casual night life and baroque monument tour.
The many ancient ruins in the Fora consist largely of altars to gods, and government buildings. The chronology spans a few hundred years, encompassing the Roman Senate building, to triumphal arcs of Emperors, an altar to Julius Caesar and some unknown structures. Our tour guide, Giovanni, was most knowledgeable about the area, and illuminated the major influence the Catholic Church and religion had in shaping the design of Rome. He is writing up a post-graduate thesis in ancient Roman archaeology, and was involved in archaelogical digs for two sites in the Forum. The tour continues through the Forum to the Colliseum. In a word, the structure is awe-inspiring. Scholars estimate the maximum capacity was between 35,000 to 50,000 people, over 4 seating levels (1st class for politicians and patrons of the state to nose-bleeds for the indigent). Much of the structure, like the rest of Rome, has either eroded away, been burned down, or has been stolen/vandalized/re-purposed for other projects. Still, the vastness of the arena imposes upon the visitor a sense of pride and dominance.
Our next tour was led by Laura, a Masters student of art history, specializing in ancient Roman art. She led us through the Vatican city-state, where we saw much of the Catholic Church's diverse collection of art and sculpture. Among the many pieces and styles, were works by Michelangelo and Rafaello. We were also allowed to tour through the Sistene Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica (which constitutes the original structure of the Vatican), the Rafaello rooms and the Borgia apartments. Needless to say, there were many beautiful works of art, and so much to take in.
Our last tour for the day was a somewhat more relaxed walk during the evening. Our guide was another archaeologist named Nicole. This tour led us by the Trevi Fountain, Church of S. Maria della Minerva, Hadrian obelisk, Pantheon and a few other sites that escape me right now. By far the coolest site was the Pantheon, which is the best preserved Roman temple in all of Europe. Though the Pantheon has been rebuilt twice, it still retains the original inscription denoting who built it, the original marble in-lay floor (lots of the coloured marble was imported from Numidia and Egypt), as well as original niches of the central dome room. The most interesting structural feature was the concrete dome, which has an approximate diameter of 50 metres (believe me, this is HUGE, and an especially impressive feat of engineering the hoist a concrete dome of that size onto the roof of a building). The tour concluded with coffee at the best place in Rome (tour guide's endorsement, but it was pretty damn good), and an apperativo. The apperativo is the Italian version of a pre-dinner snack: it includes an alcoholic beverage and buffet-style finger foods meant to stimulate your appetite for dinner.
To cap off the evening, we decided to walk by the Trevi Fountain for the third time to see it lit up at night. It was pretty, however I don't think it was worth the extra soreness from sleep-deprivation and a whole day of walking. On our last tour guide's recommendation, we went to the "Jewish Ghetto" district to the best restaurant for fried artichokes (carciofi all Giudia), at Il Portico. The artichokes and food were SOOO delicious, and well worth the detour.
Well, that's all for now. It's late and we may finally be able to get some sleep.
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