Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Hi everyone, this blog post will cover the past three days including the Coliseum, Roman Forum and surrounding area, then the Appian way, and yesterday was the cliff top town of Orevietta. So, starting with three days ago on April 5th. We began our day as usual with a run to the bakery and then on a bus to over by the Coliseum. We spent about an hour and a half there, wandering the floors and the exhibit on ancient libraries that they had there. After we finished exploring the Coliseum, we went over to the Palatine Hill, which has the ruins of many of the Imperial palaces as well as some wonderful modern gardens (we found a friendly rabbit who let us pet it.) Once we had seen the rest of the Palatine, we descended from it into the Forum. The first thing we saw in the Forum was the huge Arch of Titus, which was one of two that the triumphal generals came through on their way to the temple of Saturn to deliver their loot from campaigns. We walked down the Forum with Lars, who gave his report on the it as our guide. Along our way we saw the ruins of many of the public temples and political buildings of ancient Rome including the Temple of Vesta, where the Vestal Virgins tended the sacred flame, the last non-Christian basilica, the remains of the curia, or senate house, the Arch of Constantine opposite the Arch of Titus, and many other amazing Roman Ruins. We finished exploring the Forum after about two hours and went to the Circus Maximus for a break and a bite to eat. It appeared that the Circus was under some construction, and was apparently much cleaner than when Sandy and Mike came the last time. Before we went to our next Roman site of Trajan's market, we made a quick stop at the Bocca della Verita (mouth of truth) which apparently will bite your hand off if you lie when asked a question with your hand in it. When we had stuck our hands in the large stone mouth for photos, we went to Trajan's market. Here J gave his presentation, telling us all about the three story brick market, including things like it had an entire street devoted entirely to selling wine. We admired the view for a while, and then returned to the apartment after kebabs. Pictures of the Coliseum, the Palatine Hill, the Forum, the Bocca della Verita, and Trajan's Market to follow. The next day was Sunday, where we had a very relaxed day walking the Appian Way. We got up a bit later than usual, and left for the Appian Way at around 10:00. After a rather crowded train and bus ride we arrived and began walking. The first thing of note we saw was the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, which is basically just a hole in the ground surrounded by a medieval ruin you pay five euros to see (we didn't.) As we continued down the way we saw the church of San Sebastian, the patron saint of Rome. After the church we stopped for a picnic before heading to the Catacombs only to wait an hour as the next tour was not until then. When we finally were able to get down to the Catacombs, our guide showed us the way through the winding tunnels to rooms with the graves ofmany Popes, as well as the grave of St. Cecilia. After half an hour in the Catacombs (which apparently held over 500,000 people in total) we went back up to the surface, waited at the bus stop and departed from the Appian Way. Once we arrived back in Rome, we went to Rome's first Christian church, as well as the steps Jesus was dragged down to be crucified (the steps themselves were dragged all the way from Jerusalem.) When we had seen the steps, we went back down to the metro and were surprisingly able to get the temperamental ticket machines to work, but accidentally got off only two stops from the beginning and walked to the Campo d'Fiori, where we found a fantastic restaurant where we got an Antipasti of prosciutto, bruschetta, and cheese with strawberry jam. After finishing this, we all ordered different dishes including Pizza, pork in mushroom sauce, gnocchi with porcini mushrooms on cheese fondue, risotto with mushrooms, and a dessert of panna cotta, chocolate cake, a special baba with strawberries, and a free lemon sorbet to top it off. After our dinner we returned to the apartment around 9:30 and went to bed. Yesterday we went to Orvieto which is an ancient Etruscan town that is built on a high cliff. After a one-hour train ride to the town we traveled up the hill in a funicular to reach the top. The town also has an iconic church that was named Il Duomo. This cathedral was built in 1290 by Pope Nicolas IV. The church was built in Gothic and Romanesque styles with a wooden roof and alabaster windows. The town also had a well built by Pope Clementine VII that made the city siege resistant. The well was 62 meters deep and has two spiraling staircases going down each side and never meeting. The well is named St. Patrick's well. Pictures to follow.

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