Rome: Day 2 (or so)

A day later, I'm still exhausted. Jet lag doesn't go away as easily as I though it would, though I'm feeling way better than I was before. I'm still getting a little tired during the middle of the day, though that may just be from the heat. Italians have something called a riposo in the middle of the day. It's nearly identical to the Spanish siesta (businesses close for a few hours in the afternoon, with the exception of restaurants), and I imagine it's largely because of the heat. I've been told it's more prevalent in Sicily than in Rome. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I can definitely understand the reason for it.

Anyways, on with the story.

So yesterday... well, two days ago, I suppose (at least for me), I left off at Trevi Fountain. We continued on towards a church that's not quite as tourist-infested as some of the other areas. From the outside, you really don't notice anything special. I mean, the facade is tall and ornate, but that's not uncommon in Rome. They love columns and arches here. Anyways, it was incredible inside. Though it paled in comparison to St. Peter's, it's still head and shoulders above anything else I've seen. Since nearly all Italians are Catholics, Catholics love over-the top things and Italians love over-the-top things, it's sort of a perfect church storm here. Apparently, they ran out of money to build the third dome in this place, so they just painted a piece of canvas to look like a dome from a certain perspective and used that. It's pretty convincing. The pictures are on my Facebook, but, unfortunately, I don't have the time to upload them to this (I'm typing this in TextEdit, then logging on for like three minutes to copy it in so I pay as little as possible). I'm considering paying for an advanced Flickr account, but I'd like a free alternative if anyone has any suggestions for unlimited picture hosting.

After the walking tour, we boarded a bus and went and saw the Colosseum. It was, of course, incredible. The size is astonishing, the architecture is amazing and the sheer history is almost palpable and it really takes your breath away to stop and think about it. You can almost see it, the stadium grand and whole, with seats leading all the way to the top, the outside lined with shining marble and 50,000 people crowding in to see the show. The 50,000, all of whom paid nothing to get in (it was the emperor's gift to the people, mainly to apologize for the infamous Nero's behavior), lined the stadium to watch men fight animals and each other, as well as the always-pleasant lunchtime diversion, public execution. Apparently, death was relatively uncommon (ignoring the executions, of course), as gladiators were not only valuable slaves, but they often attracted a following. The feeling of standing in a place and knowing what happened there so many years ago is really awe-inspiring.

We took the bus back to the hotel after that, passing by the Vatican on the way (more on that later). We split after that, with most of us heading off to nap. Deciding to confront my jet lag head on, I instead walked to my room and grabbed my camera. I then got myself good and lost and just wandered around Rome.

Before anyone gets all in a tizzy about safety or whatever, I'll let you know I pretty much knew where I was the entire time. I was a bit disoriented for about three minutes during the four or so hours I wandered, and it only took a quick look for the nearest piazza to get my bearings. Rome feels pretty safe, actually, especially during the day. People are friendly, and most of them speak English.

It's difficult to put my little adventure into words. I cannot give you the names of half the places I saw, nor can I give you an idea of my feelings during the time. I suppose a great feeling of luck was my most prominent emotion. There I was, wandering Rome with nothing more than a few euros, a cheap map and a camera. I knew my way around, I spoke the necessary Italian and I was free to go wherever I wanted and photograph whatever I wanted. I felt confident and independent in a foreign land, completely in control of the situation at any given moment.

That night, we left the hotel for dinner. Dinner is later here, and longer as well. Hanging around after the meal isn't really frowned upon here. We went to a place around the corner that our program director, Michelle, had a reservation at. At the restaurant, we were served around eight different plates, just so we could try everything. The ravioli we had was incredible, by far my favorite. Too bad I can't remember what it's called.

On the way back from dinner, one of the girls got picked up by a mime. It was weird.

After dessert, we stopped back at the hotel quickly and then headed out again, this time to the other side of the river. It was a beautiful night, and walking along the river (however algae-infested it may be) and watching the lights of the shops along it reflect to create a shimmering mirror image was really surreal. It was difficult to comprehend that we were really in Rome, that we were really in Italy. Across the river, we walked among friendly and relatively tame crowds, many of them gathered around street performers of one type or another. Crowds here, even ones outside bars, aren't really ever rowdy or drunk.

Things did get a bit sketchy, however, when we were walking back across the bridge. Being the only guy in the program has it's obvious benefits, but it comes with a feeling of responsibility for your friends. The rhythmic chants of "hey bay-bee, hey bay-bee" echoed across the bridge, and we had to stop to pluck a friend out from a group of characteristically, er... aggressive, Italians. I was also offered drugs on three or four separate occasions while crossing the bridge (all weed, and I obviously declined), but that happens at home to me, too. I think it's the eyebrows.

We spent another day in Rome that I'll try and cover later, but we leave tomorrow (today). All in all, Rome is a beautiful place. I feel comfortable here, and ignoring the rogue Vespa (or any other Vespa, or car for that matter) flying out of freaking nowhere, safe as well. The fact that I know my way around at least part of the city is really amazing. I wish I could have posted more on my afternoon of wandering, but words really do escape me. It was, all in all, the defining experience of the orientation.

As I explained before, they say if you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, you'll come back to Rome. I had my half-euro coin in my hand and my back turned to the fountain, but ended up pocketing it and walking away. This is mostly because I'm poor, cannot get a job here and am quickly realizing that change is actually valuable here, but also because I know I'm coming back, and I don't need any help making that choice.