Sunday, March 9th, 2008

We finally had the chance to sleep in a bit.

There were no Daylight Savings Time issues to contend with, so today’s wakeup call at 0830 really was a bit like sleeping in. In case you’re wondering, that was only 0330 back home. I’m sure many of you are wondering how exactly do you get this many teenagers up and out of bed that early. We’re finding that the promise of food is working quite well.

Today – as yesterday, we started with a walk to the Colosseo. Yesterday, we were too late to get inside the Colosseo, and that was our first option for the day. But – as expected – the lineups were huge and since this was the first sunny day we’ve had since arriving, the decision was to stay outside and walk through the forum before continuing on to the other sights on our list for today.

So we moved on to the Foro Romano (The Forum). Yesterday, our guide gave the explanations, but the gate to the Foro Romano closes early and we were unable to enter. So … we did today. There were throngs and throngs and throngs of people. And no wonder! The history oozes from the ground beneath your feet. We walked along the Via Sacra – the very road down which victorious Roman generals led processions celebrating conquest. We saw the remains of the Temple of Vesta, the Curia (Senate House) and the Basilica di Massenzio. Eventually, we worked our way over to the steps leading back up to the Piazza Campidoglio.

Inside The Forum

We had spent time at the Piazza Campidoglio yesterday, but only at street level; this time, we came through the courtyard. Michelangelo had been asked to redevelop the piazza by Pope Paul III. There are three large buildings that frame the piazza – the Palazzo Senatorio, the Palazzo Nuovo and the Palazzo dei Conservatori. In the centre of the piazza is a statue of Marcus Aurelius on a horse – to me the headdress on Aurelius made it look like the statue had come with a pigeon already strategically in place.

Marcus Aurelius

We went down the steps (the Cordonata) and crossed the street. Crossing the street in front of the Piazza del Campididoglio is no easy feat. There is plenty of traffic moving in a couple of different directions – with plenty of merging and crossing. There are pedestrian crosswalks painted on the road – but (strangely enough) there are no lights. Traffic just keeps moving and everyone works co-operatively to make it continue to flow. Every once in a while, the traffic will come to a stop and pedestrians will cross. Then, the pedestrians will stop and the traffic flow will resume. There were no huge lines of traffic, very little horn honking and certainly no pedestrians fearing to cross the street. The drivers knew enough not to hit the pedestrians (and each other) the pedestrians knew enough not to step out unless the driver had a reasonable chance of stopping. Now, this all works well for the locals who understand the basic underlying concept – get along to make it work – but try to hustle 36 teenagers across this traffic maelstrom. Especially 36 teenagers who don’t seem to understand the importance of sticking close to each other in a crowd.

But, we managed – and everyone emerged unscathed; with a healthier respect for the “stick together” concept.

We made our way over to the Pantheon. The original Pantheon was built by Agrippa in 27BCE in honour of the heavenly gods. Nero’s great fire of 80CE destroyed the original and the Pantheon was rebuilt in the early second century by Emperor Hadrian. In the 6th century, the building was given to Pope Boniface IV who turned it into a Christian church – which it continues to serve as to this day. The most impressive feature of the Pantheon is the domed roof. This is the largest dome ever built before the introduction of reinforced concrete. There are no windows and the only source of natural light is an opening at the centre top of the dome. Originally, there were statues of Hadrian and Augustus along with Olympian gods in the niches along the walls – but now there are only the tombs of the first two kings and Raphael.

The Pantheon

We then made our way over to another piazza – the Piazza Navona – with another fountain and another church. This square was filled with artists offering everything from oil and water colours (of various sizes) to caricatures done “while you wait”. While, we idled away some time in the piazza – enjoying the sunshine, Flavio was off to find us a place to have lunch. At the centre of the piazza is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. This fountain was created by the famous Roman architect Bernini in the mid 17th century.

So … you think it’s easy to find lunch for a group of 44? OK … here’s the challenge … downtown Rome, lunchtime on Sunday … 44 people with a couple of special dietary needs thrown in (just to make it interesting) with a pre-arranged menu and all food ready at about the same time – oh yes … don’t forget drinks too. Ready? Go! You have half an hour. My hat goes off to Flavio. He keeps coming through with these kinds of things. We went to a nice little place down an alley – it seems that nearly every restaurant in Rome is down an alley. For an appetizer, we had some stuffed and fried olives, accompanied by a deep fried rice/cheese/tomato sauce stick. The actual lunch was a true Italian-style pizza; very thin crust, with tomato sauce and some cheese and prosciutto slices. Very nice. Well done Flavio.

But then again, it probably wasn’t that difficult for Flavio to figure out, because – it turned out – he grew up in a house just up the street. After lunch, we all posed for a group picture with Flavio – in front of his old house.

After lunch, we were off to find the Spanish Steps and the Trevi fountain. The approach to the Spanish Steps was up another series of ever-narrowing streets. And the closer we got to the Steps, the denser the crowds got. So dense, in fact, that we had to abandon any hope of trying to walk on the sidewalk – and instead just took the street – along with everyone else. The area around the Spanish Steps is full of ultra-high-end retailers; Prada, Yves St. Laurent, Gucci – not a Dollarama or Buck-or-Two in sight. Again, the crowds were thick at the Spanish Steps. We stayed briefly and moved on to the Trevi fountain.

The Spanish Steps

The legend of the Trevi fountain is that you throw two coins over your shoulder into the fountain as you make a wish. The legend says that your wish will be granted and that you will return to Rome. I’m not sure how much you’re supposed to throw in – but I figured that if I had big wishes, I’d better be prepared to commit something more than a couple of Canadian pennies. Ms. Williams stepped up to the fountain, closed her eyes, and threw her coins over her shoulder and suddenly, all the students disappeared! It was the strangest thing!

Mrs. Williams

After the Spanish Steps, we went to an “Imax-style” movie/ride that retold stories of many of the things that we’ve seen over the past two days. Some of the chaperones started scrambling for Gravol as soon as they realized that this was going to be one of those “motion” rides. There was one point in the film where they spoke about rats spreading the “Black Death” in the Middle Ages – and right then, there were little puffs of air that blew up the audience’s pant legs. There was plenty of jumping and screeching!

And – essentially – that ended the “formal” activities for the day. Since we were downtown in Rome, the students were given a bit of free time to go and do some exploring/shopping. We met back at the Piazza del Campididoglio and then walked back up to the hotel. Total for the day was about 13.5 km over the course of 6.5 hours. My feet are killing me.

Tomorrow, we’re going to get an early start and go tour Vatican. I’m hoping that we get to see the Sistine Chapel. Later in the day, we’ll be heading to Florence.

We think that the source of the stomach bug that’s been running through some people (sorry, there’s that pun again) is the milk. I’m not sure if it’s a different pasteurization process – or just different processing.

Aside from the stomach discomfort, everyone is doing well. The walking is taking a toll with a few blistered feet – but nothing worth noting.