Il Colosseo e il foro romano

This weekend Loyola organized a tour of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum guided by Prof. Sander Evers, who in and of himself is quite an adventure. Carolyn, Alana, Joanna, and I took a cab down to the Colosseum because we weren't sure how to get there quickly by bus. The cab ride was by far NOT the worst I have had in Europe, but it scared the life out of me! At one point we went into a tunnel in which there were no lanes painted on the road, so everyone just swerves around each other because they are in such a hurry! Then, we turned a corner onto a big shopping street and there were people everywhere! Italians don't seem to understand the term "efficient." The worst part about this cab ride was that I being the most experienced Italian speaker had to sit in the front. Oh joy.






Anyway, we got to the Palatino entrance and only one other Loyola person was there! We are slowly coming to realize that Italians are late for everything. Eventually more Rome Center students and Prof. Sander Evers arrived and we were ready to take out tour (lead by Evers). We got to see some really amazing ruins and Evers did an awesome job of bringing it all to life. Of course, he talked to so much that we didn't make it to the Colosseum, but it was so worth it.

After the tour Evers needed a beer, so he took us all out for drinks! You know you're not in the States when your professor buys you a beer.


Since we didn't get to see the Colosseum and our tickets were valid for two days, my friend Bits and I decided to go back the next day. It was perfect. We got in there without having to wait in line, we got some great pictures, and right as it started to drizzle we headed back to the train station so we were back at school in time for lunch. I spent the rest of the day doing reading for all of my classes.



We now have a favorite pub near school. We've only been there once, but it was fantastic. The place is called Maes and they have Bulmers Cider which is a pretty good beer. It's not cheap, but it's a really cool place. I especially love it because they were playing the new Killers CD. Thank goodness because I'm really sick of hearing last decade's hits in the shopping mall.