This morning, instead of boarding our spacious bus that we had grown accustomed to, we squeezed ourselves into a van to navigate the morning rush hour in Downtown Roma. Once we arrived at the destination, we were greeted by the ruins of ancient Roman arches, buildings, and the arena. Carla, our local tour guide, helped us navigate the busy entrance to the Colosseum. The first floor was crowded, but once we reached the second level, we could get an amazing view of the arena and surrounding buildings. We hiked down out of the area the Ancient Romans called the arena, which got its name from the sand coating the floor of the stadium, and out into the ruins of the Roman Forum. As we stood in the shadows of the ancient pillars, the centuries of history from Ancient Rome to the Renaissance, to the 20th century and today, was palpable in the late morning air. Wherever you looked you could see the different layers of buildings from these different eras stacked on top of each other. Once we ended our walking tour through the various forums of the many Emperors at the Piazza Venezia, we returned to the Pantheon and were released for lunch and a few hours of free time.
Every student was eager to experience more authentic Roman cuisine, with pasta carbonara ranking as a group favorite. After lunch, the group spent time shopping and soaking up the sun in the cobblestone-lined streets. Yours truly personally made time to explore the expansive Piazza Bucarest, not far from the Spanish Steps. With performers, vendors, gardens, and even a lake, it was quite a pleasant experience.
When we reconvened after lunch, the reunited group then made our way to the Tiber River. As we were on our way to the pizza dinner workshop, the group was blessed with views of the city from the tallest of the seven hills surrounding the Italian capital.
The pizza shop was a quaint little restaurant tucked into the outskirts of Rome, with its beautiful pavilion made for outdoor dining already cleared and prepped for pizza creation. We kneaded the dough, spread the cheese, sauce and other toppings, and eagerly sent the pizzas away to the ovens. The pizza, because it was placed in an almost 1000 degree oven, only took 90 seconds to fully cook. Our self-made dinner was complemented with focaccia, bruschetta, and a questionable gelatin custard mix. After we boarded the van, we were given the plan for our final full day in Italy — the tour of Vatican City.