Stu's View:
Wednesday morning arrived bright and early with construction below the hostel at 7:45am. Which worked out well as I was getting up shortly there after. By 8:30 I was on the streets headed for the Colosseum! Today was the day!!! Time for my tour inside the building.... I was PUMPED!! It was number one on my list to see...and it was worth the price for admission!
Wednesday morning arrived bright and early with construction below the hostel at 7:45am. Which worked out well as I was getting up shortly there after. By 8:30 I was on the streets headed for the Colosseum! Today was the day!!! Time for my tour inside the building.... I was PUMPED!! It was number one on my list to see...and it was worth the price for admission!
By 9:00 I was wandering my way through the upper and lower decks of the ancient arena. I actually paid the extra price to get the audio guide. It was worth every penny. To see the structural supports, the the refinished floor, the cross marking the seat of the emperor, the engraved assigned seats of the individual senators. It was terrific!! To hear about how the floor operated by the system of pulleys and ropes, to raise gladiators, animals, and set pieces. I was impressed by the detail and support that still ran through the length and breath of the ancient building.
After my hour and a half at the Colosseum, I wandered down the street to take a closer look at the Roman Forum. I decided it wouldn't be worth it to venture inside, especially now as more and more tourist groups were clogging the sites. So I made do with a leisurely stroll around the outside, pausing from time to time to snap a photo.
From there, I made my way to the Vatican. I had it on good authority, (Morgan), that the pope would be speaking at noon. Thinking I'd have time to look around, I arrived after a short walk at 11 to find the pope already addressing the audience. But fear not!! I did arrive in time to hear him speak in english, and grant my family and friends at home his blessings. It was terrific to see the mass of believers, all shouting in support for the leader of the catholic church. It did a great job of making me feel part of something MUCH larger than myself.
From there I hoofed it back to the apartment to catch Morgan between classes. I stopped by, gave my report, assured her that I was safe and seeing the sites, and then I was off again. Morgan had these midterm things, or something...studying...I don't know. But I was off!!! More to see more to do!
From there I made my way back across town to take in the Pantheon!! Unbeknown to me, the Pantheon is actually a basilica off the main drag of Via del Corso. The view was fantastic. No surprise there I know. But I did have to wonder what happened when it rained, as there was no top on this building, and there were a number of beautiful peices of artwork inside. My question went un-answered. I did however find the tomb of the artist Rapheal, and the tomb of Vitorrio Emanuelle. The patriot for whom the large monument was errected that I perused the first afternoon in Roma.
From the Pantheon, I found another GORGEOUS basilica only a half a block down. Another score for my perfect day. From there I was off to find some green gelato, to celebrate my Irish heritage on this day of Saint Patrick. That Kewi gelato was fantastic!!!!
I then made my way back to prep supper before Morgan got home. You can't beat the blue box Mac and Cheese, even in Italy. But the timing worked out perfectly. Morgan got home, we ate, got ready for the opera (fancy attire) and we were off!!!!
Funny story...the professor of Morgan's opera class...didn't show up. Apparently he was in Naples. He rang a friend and we were escorted by this random gentleman to a bus, across town, and to the opera. Quiet the experience!
As was the opera!!! Mephistophles. It was a variation of Faust. For all of you who have NO clue what Faust is about...join the club. But!! The music was FANTASTIC. The size of there voices left me reeling. No microphones were used, and they still FILLLED the auditorium. There was a full orchestra, and a large number of chorus members. Again, the music was incredible. It was all in Italian, but I could still appreciate good music when I hear it. Morgan was frantically taking notes, as she has a ten page paper to write on this one performance. But she enjoyed it as well.
From there, we decided that we would walk (now 12:00) to the hostel to check me out. Because we were heading to the Vatican first thing Thursday morning, it made more sense to got straight from the apartment. Weeeeeeell... Morgan, was in heels. Large silver ones. And it didn't take long until they were aweful sore, especially on the lovely, cobblestone pavement. But she was a troopper!! In every sense of the word, and made it about a mile and a half by the time the evening was all said in done!!!!
By then, it was 2:30am, we were both wiped, and it was lights out. I curled up on the floor and was out shortly there after.
So, to recap!
Colosseum
Forum
Pope/Vatican
Pantheon
Basilica
Green gelato
mac and cheese
and italian opera
Yup...it was a good day!
Morgan's Say:
Happy Saint Patties Day :)
I had another final this morning, and I definitely rocked it, I think I very plausibly could have scored a hundred percent on it, awesome. After the final we had class, surprise. I went back to my apartment for my break with a long to do list to tackle. I managed to shower, do laundry, and study for my next final. Blogging was not accomplished. Stu stopped by for a quick wonderful surprise visit before heading to the coliseum and leaving me to work. I hung my laundry outside so it would dry quickly for spring break purposes. ( I later discovered one of my shirts fell on top of the parking garage, and is lost forever, and another one had been pooped on by a pigeon, not such a good idea after all.) I emailed my mother to wish her a happy St Patty's day and my sister to hopefully relieve a bit of finals stress, I knew she was in the middle of a crazy week. I left for my Art gallery Management final which I think I did quite decent on, especially considering my level of preparation. I rushed back to the apartment to mac and cheese that Stu had made for us. It was opera night and I only had a little bit of time to get ready.We had planned to take the bus as I was wearing my heels, but when it came it was packed so we walked instead. (I was pretty pleased with myself for conquering the stairs of death in my heels :) we arrived in plenty of time to meet my professor, who didn't show. As it turned out he was stuck in Naples so he sent a friend to show us to the opera house. We arrived in time to find gelato. I got pistachio (which is green) in honor of St. Patty's day. It was incredibly delicious. The opera house was absolutely beautiful on the inside, and we had our own box. It wasn't the best for viewing purposes, but we made due. Half the class took off early, including a girl in our box who wasn't pleased with the quality of this production. I couldn't believe it, we have to write a ten page paper over this specific performance, I'm not sure how these people are going to do it. I'm positive they wouldn't have left if our professor was there. As it turned out the opera was three hours long and we got out a little after midnight. This meant that only the night buses were running which I am not very familiar with. Stu's hostel was quite close and so he decided to check out early and crash on our couch so he wouldn't have to walk back to his hostel after getting his bag from my apartment. we walked to his hostel and then to the coliseum. Quick reminder I'm in my four inch heels and have been wearing them for six plus hours now. I am not a happy camper, and we were moving quite slowly with breaks along the way. I was quiet to avoid complaining, and Stu took my angry silence like a champ, joking and singing all the way while offering to carry me. We walked to the end of the tram line and decided to try a night bus. we rounded the corner looking for a stop going in the right direction (on my suggestion) and consequently missed the first bus. We waited fifteen minutes for the next one and road it for another thirty five minutes or so. Once we were on viale trastevere I suggested we get off on the first stop (dumb) in fear of taking it too far. Consequently we had to walk another forty minutes mostly because I was going so incredibly slow. I'm sure seeing me walk would have been quite amusing. Stu put up with me in good spirits the whole way never once complaining and supporting me all the way. He's a keeper. We got home finally, and headed for bed. What we forgot was that one of my roommates had a friend coming, so fifteen minutes later Stu was fast asleep on the floor by my bed.
Morgan's Say:
Happy Saint Patties Day :)
I had another final this morning, and I definitely rocked it, I think I very plausibly could have scored a hundred percent on it, awesome. After the final we had class, surprise. I went back to my apartment for my break with a long to do list to tackle. I managed to shower, do laundry, and study for my next final. Blogging was not accomplished. Stu stopped by for a quick wonderful surprise visit before heading to the coliseum and leaving me to work. I hung my laundry outside so it would dry quickly for spring break purposes. ( I later discovered one of my shirts fell on top of the parking garage, and is lost forever, and another one had been pooped on by a pigeon, not such a good idea after all.) I emailed my mother to wish her a happy St Patty's day and my sister to hopefully relieve a bit of finals stress, I knew she was in the middle of a crazy week. I left for my Art gallery Management final which I think I did quite decent on, especially considering my level of preparation. I rushed back to the apartment to mac and cheese that Stu had made for us. It was opera night and I only had a little bit of time to get ready.We had planned to take the bus as I was wearing my heels, but when it came it was packed so we walked instead. (I was pretty pleased with myself for conquering the stairs of death in my heels :) we arrived in plenty of time to meet my professor, who didn't show. As it turned out he was stuck in Naples so he sent a friend to show us to the opera house. We arrived in time to find gelato. I got pistachio (which is green) in honor of St. Patty's day. It was incredibly delicious. The opera house was absolutely beautiful on the inside, and we had our own box. It wasn't the best for viewing purposes, but we made due. Half the class took off early, including a girl in our box who wasn't pleased with the quality of this production. I couldn't believe it, we have to write a ten page paper over this specific performance, I'm not sure how these people are going to do it. I'm positive they wouldn't have left if our professor was there. As it turned out the opera was three hours long and we got out a little after midnight. This meant that only the night buses were running which I am not very familiar with. Stu's hostel was quite close and so he decided to check out early and crash on our couch so he wouldn't have to walk back to his hostel after getting his bag from my apartment. we walked to his hostel and then to the coliseum. Quick reminder I'm in my four inch heels and have been wearing them for six plus hours now. I am not a happy camper, and we were moving quite slowly with breaks along the way. I was quiet to avoid complaining, and Stu took my angry silence like a champ, joking and singing all the way while offering to carry me. We walked to the end of the tram line and decided to try a night bus. we rounded the corner looking for a stop going in the right direction (on my suggestion) and consequently missed the first bus. We waited fifteen minutes for the next one and road it for another thirty five minutes or so. Once we were on viale trastevere I suggested we get off on the first stop (dumb) in fear of taking it too far. Consequently we had to walk another forty minutes mostly because I was going so incredibly slow. I'm sure seeing me walk would have been quite amusing. Stu put up with me in good spirits the whole way never once complaining and supporting me all the way. He's a keeper. We got home finally, and headed for bed. What we forgot was that one of my roommates had a friend coming, so fifteen minutes later Stu was fast asleep on the floor by my bed.
I like Stu's writing, he's so happy :)
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