Tabor College European Seminar Journal

Zac and I slept through the alarm by about 20 minutes, but we somehow managed to make it downstairs to breakfast in time to get some good food in our stomachs in preparation for our last full day in Rome.

ROMAN FORUM RERUN

Zac, Tessa, Julia, Andrew, Katie, Stephanie, Whitney, Jenae and I then went down to the Termini and sped over to the Colosseo station.  We took another gander at the monumental stadium looming against the sky in front of us, then walked over to the Roman Forum and used the group ticket Doc gave us to get inside the area.

The day was sunny, warm, and beautiful. It was probably the nicest weather we had had the entire trip.  The green grass occupying the open space between ruins was nice to get to see in the sunshine without the rain turning everything into mud.  The historical remains in the forum were even more striking in the sunlight.  We meandered our way to the Palatine area and found a picturesque spot at which to eat lunch. We pulled out our bread (with Nutella) and apples and dined, keeping a watchful eye on the watchful pigeons.  They stood poised, looking for any crumbs that fell around us.

(back to front) Zac, Stephanie, Whitney, Katie, Julia, Jenae, and Tessa enjoying the Palatino

SIGHTSEEING AND SHOPPING

The view of the Forum and the rest of the city from our Palatine lunch benches was phenomenal.  We eventually pulled ourselves away from it and walked to Trajan’s Column, a famous landmark in the history of typography.  It was across the street from the monument to Vittorrio Emanuele II.  We walked over to this huge building, constructed to commemorate Italian unification, and took some pictures.  Vittorio Emanuele II was the first king of a united Italy.  The Tomb of the Unknown soldier, flags, statues, and pillars made the building constructed in his honor look very regal in the shadows of the bright sun.  Though we didn’t have time to see it, I’m sure the museum inside would have been great to visit.  I snuck a peek down one of the hallways when the others were taking pictures outside.

Zac taking in the sights in front of the Pantheon

We walked over to the Pantheon and were able to walk inside this time.  The massive domed ceiling had a large hole built in the middle of it called the oculus.  The Pantheon’s dome was indeed impressive and complemented the enormous pillars in front that served as the support for the structure.  The Pantheon’s dome made the return trip to the site well worth the time we spent to walk there.

The oculus in the ceiling of the Pantheon

Zac, Andrew, and I split off from the girls (who wanted to buy purses) and went to McDonald’s for a snack. We then went souvenir shopping for the rest of the afternoon, bought some mementos, and walked around the city.  We eventually met Katie, Stephanie, Julia, and Jenae for dinner at a pizza/pasta place in the area. After I had polished off my pasta, Jenae and I did some more shopping while the others went back.  We had to take in the sights slowly in our last night in Rome.  We stopped by the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain on our way back to the hotel and went to sleep for the final time at a hotel on the trip.