Rome Feb. 5 (Thu)

I slept a little better last night than the night before because there was a lot less snoring this time. After leaving the hostel we bought fruit and bread again, a very very cheap breakfast, and walked to find the Metro. We didn’t find the one that was suppose to be closest to our hoste, but found one around the Vatican. It took us a little while to figure out which line to take and then we had to switch lines once we got to the Termini Station. We walked out of this station and once we hit the fresh air BAM! There was the Colosseum. We actually hit a wall of people who had exited the Metro and immediately stopped to take pictures. Our tour group ended up being bigger than I would have liked, but it was still really cool to tour the Colosseum and learn so much more about it than I’ve ever known. It was built in only 8 years, finished in 80AD, and is technically named the Flavian Ampetheater. The lowest level was reserved for nobility, the second for wealthy people, the third for common men, and the highest level for common women. There were never any tickets, but apparently people could tell by their dress the correct section to sit in. Entertainment and food at the Colosseum use to be free too. We were able to walk up to the second level of the Colosseum; it was a really cool view looking down into the basement/holding area. There was also an awesome view of the Arch of Constantine from up there. The only bad thing about the day was that it was raining while we were inside the Colosseum, which has no roof! I am so sick of rain! It rained the first week and a half in Granada, the entire weekend in Madrid (with some snow mixed in), and off and on in Rome. When is there going to be sun in Europe? After our official tour ended we walked around the second level of the Colosseum (that was as high as you were allowed to go) and then exited to join our next tour, the Palentine Hill.
This was where the Roman emperors built their homes and lived. The tour guide told us it was over a mile in perimeter and use to be entirely enclosed, with various indoor courtyards to let in sunlight and fresh air. The indoor courtyards were made of marble with fountains which helped reflect light into the palace. Near the end of the tour we went to a balcony that overlooked the Roman Forum. The Via Sacra going through the Roman Forum was the most important road during the Roman Empire. All business transactions took place here and soldiers would march through there to show off their spoils after war. From the balcony I could see the gigantic Basilica of Constantine, as well as the area reserved for the ancient cult of the Vestle Virgins. These girls were chosen at age seven to serve the god of purity for 30 years. Only one woman ever finished her service though, because life expectancy was only in the 30s during the Roman Empire.
At that time we were all pretty grumpy because we were so hungry, it was already after 3pm and all we had eaten so far was fruit and bread. We walked up a hill close to the Colosseum, above the area where prostitutes use to hang out after Colosseum events, and walked back down it because there was no food up there. We found a pizza place at about 4pm on a side street. There was no one else in there! We always go to restaurants at the wrong time. Tuesday night we went to dinner too early and lunch too late today. I had a coke and the best lasagna of my life! The noodles tasted like they had been made fresh this morning. After we ate we were all much happier and walked to Via Nazionale to do some shopping. At the end of the street was a Metro station and we took that back to the hostel.