A Duck Walks Into a Pub: Day 16: Rome and Jaeger

For our first full day in Roma we started at the macdaddy of them all, the Colosseum. After watching the Gladiator on the bus into town the day before it was easy to imagine how the impressive ruins would have looked 2000 years ago filled with 55,000 spectators. After some photo opportunities on the outside we headed inside for another local guided tour. Standing inside the arena looking down on the stage where so many people battled and died was another surreal experience. To think that the Romans could build something so impressive so long ago is really hard to fathom.

After leaving the gates as the Roman citizens would have, we then headed to the nearby Roman Forum. This is the location of many ruins and buildings that the Romans used to help govern their vast Mediterranean empire. After saying goodbye to our guide we were free to visit the city as we pleased. In Rome there is entirely too much to see so we chose a few things to visit on a walking tour of our own. We started at the Monument to Victory that also contains the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and headed up the very busy Via del Corso towards the Piazza del Popolo, which contains one of the 7 Egyptian obelisks located throughout the city.

After a quick pizza lunch, we walked toward the Spanish Steps and after racing to the top we returned to the bottom to sit next to one of the many fountains. This one was a little more interesting than the rest since many people had their feet in the water to try and get some kind of relief from the draining heat, and others were filling up water bottle from the same water. Not the most sanitary sight, but you know "when in Rome.."

Next we headed to the Tritone fountain to visit the nearby Capuchin Crypts. It is the final resting place for over 400 monks and since their order doesn't allow them to be buried underground, they have been collecting bodies for the past 500 years. Easily one of the creepiest things I have ever seen since bones were used to create designs and decorate the walls of the crypt. Oh and some of the skeletons were fully intact in sitting or standing positions with some still showing remnants of skin on their faces. I would not recommend it for small children, which oddly enough there were plenty of visiting the site.

We returned to the hotel for some extremely cheap, but delicious, pizza by the kilogram and bought a cheap bottle of wine to begin the evening. Tonight we were headed to another bar crawl, this one beginning at the Spanish steps and involving lots of Jaeger bombs and whiskey. Needless to say it was a good night for most of us, but some of the group didn't quite make it to the last club. A good way to end our first day in Roma, but maybe not the best choice since tomorrow we are headed to the holy seat of Catholicism.

Enjoying Italy a little too much,

Josh