Day Seven (Rome)

Rome wasn't built in a day...but we sure did tour it in one!! To set the mood for the day, we watched Gladiator on the bus. It was a big hit and really got us excited to see the Colosseum! However, before reaching Rome, we stopped at a shop that sells chocolate, oils, pasta, wine, and other Italian goodies. The best part of the stop was that the shop has samples of chocolate and oils and oil-based lotions out for testing. More souvenirs were purchased yet again. Before we loaded back on the bus though, one of the shop's cashiers challenged our head coach, Joe Haigh, to a game of fútbol/foosball (as we call it in the states). It was another friendly competition for the red flash in Italy. From there, we learned historical facts and details about the roman monuments. The Colosseum, which was newly named as one of the 7 wonders of the world, was amazing!  Everyone was in awe of the historical background of this great monument!  Our local guide took us through The Colosseum and filled us in on some historical facts.  For instance, the Colosseum use to be much bigger than it currently stands today, but due to many hurricanes the Colosseum has gotten significantly smaller over centuries.  In it's glory, the Colosseum could hold between 50,000-70,000 people at once!  After a lot of photos were taken, we continued with the local guide to the ancient roman forum, the city center centuries ago!  Here we saw a lot of what remains of the original roman buildings and cathedrals!  It is amazing to see how much still remains centuries later!  Our next stop in Rome was to Altare Della Patria (the tomb of the unkown soldier).  Our timing was perfect as we arrived there just in time to see the changing of the guards!  We all soaked up the last of our Italian shopping and inhaled lots of gelato as today was our last full day in Italy!  Some chose to attend a true catholic mass in Rome at the Church of Sts. Vincent and Anastasius.  Upon arrival to the hotel, there was a delicious dinner waiting for us complete with pasta, veal, spinach, and a fruit tart! Sadly, tonight is being spent packing bags and preparing for our day of travel tomorrow!  But before we say good bye to Italy for good, we will make a stop at the Vatican tomorrow morning to pay a visit to Pope Francis! Buonanotte!!

-Hope Phillips

Senior #45