Day Seven - Rome

We enjoyed another wonderful day in Rome. The rain held off and we managed to take in all the sites plus enjoyed tonnes of free time on the streets of Roma. The day began with a visit to "Mr. Colosseum". It was one of the most anticipated sites and it lived up to and exceeded expectations. Most students are still wondering how on earth the building was accomplished. The structure could hold 75,000 people, so it is as large or larger than most modern stadiums.

From there we hopped across the street to the Roman Forum, originally an open-air gathering spot for the early city, which evolved into a collection of religious and government buildings. Most of the area was buried through the centuries, with much of the building materials pillaged to build some of the other monuments in Rome. We then toured the Palatine Hill, the site of the palaces of the Emperors.

From there students split up for free time, some going to an art museum, others perfecting their deal-hunting. It's a tough day when you have to choose between beautiful artifacts, eating gelato while you shop, or sitting at in outdoor cafe while you listen to a street quartet, complete with upright bass and saxophone.

Supper was a neat experience as we were sitting in a Roman Bath, the remains of which were in the restaurant we were at. Sitting around and eating in the middle an artifact over 1800 years old was cool and bizarre at the same time.

Today we also lost our first bus driver; not to the traffic although it would likely kill a weaker person. Andrea's contract was over and we get a new driver tomorrow. Hopefully he's just as good.

We can see the confidence and navigational skills in our travelers increase every day. They had no trouble finding the Del 'a Plama, the gelati place we went to last night. Everyone quickly branches out on their own to explore the side streets full of shops and sights.

Not everyone has natural bargaining talent. While Stacey has been learning from the experts like Kelsie, she still hasn't found her edge. "If I give you 4 Euros for this, would that be okay?"

Today saw the first group breakdown and go North-American for lunch. Brooke and Erica et. al. bypassed the pizza, spaghetti, and fettuccine for a good old bacon-cheeseburger at McD's.

Luggage problems are still showing up as scarves, purses, and the odd wooden sword continue to pile up. Good luck to Laura fitting that in.

More good news: all those rain-ponchos and umbrellas you bought were finally used today, although if we had been at home in a rain like this people would have teased us mercilessly for the 6 drops we managed to avoid.

Today ended early which suited most people. This is the part of the trip we warned everyone about - the feet are tired, the sleep is short, and the brain is overwhelmed. Tomorrow the pace slows as we move south in Italy to Pompeii, and then off to our hotel on the Mediterranean coast.

Three sleeps and we're back on the plane.