The adventure begins…

What an amazing 2 days in Rome so far. Yesterday was a day of exploring. After a long 22 hour flight to Rome from Cape Town, I found my accommodation and had a much needed shower and nap. I then set to the streets. I spent nearly 3 hours just walking around, looking at the amazing architecture and wondering in and out of shops. It is very hot here so it was also about finding shady places to walk. I saw so much from puppies being born on the side of the road to many street performers. The street performers here are wonderful to watch. There are singers, to dancers, to musicians and so many artists producing the most beautiful art. I was in absolute awe.

My next stop was the Spanish Steps where I was meeting a group to do a walking tour of Rome. It ended up being quite an adventure. The tour guide was nearly fined and the tour stopped as he was unlicensed. Everyone was staring at us thinking we were guilty of something. Luckily it ended up being all good as it was a free tour and so he didn’t need to be. Quite an interesting turn of events for the start of my holiday. The walking tour was great. We got to see all the big attractions in Rome from Trevi Fountain to the Pantheon and ending off in Piazza Navona.

To end off a lovely day, I met some of the people from my Topdeck tour which starts tomorrow. We had a wonderful dinner together where I enjoyed a delicious Italian pizza before heading home for a good nights rest.

Today I headed off for a tour of the Vatican City. We looked at so much but my highlight was the Sistine Chapel. I also really enjoyed the St. Peter’s Basilica and looking at all the Popes tombs. It is so rich in history and the artwork in there is simply breathtaking. I am so glad I finally got to see it. The tour took slightly longer than I expected and then had to dash off to another tour. This one was of the Colosseum. I have always wanted to go there and was really looking forward to it. We started the tour by going through Roman Forum which was incredible. Again there is so much history there and it was amazing to think what was once there and what it use to look like. Seeing the Emperors private chariot arena which was huge and then standing on the Palatine Hill and over looking the forum was just wonderful. We then took a walk to the Colosseum which was everything I had dreamed. Standing in the arena was amazing. To stand and imagine what it would have been like to be a gladiator performing in front of 80 000 people was just awesome. Then we went up to the stands to see what it would have been like to be a spectator and that was even more awesome.

I was privileged to eat an authentic Italian restaurant for supper tonight. Carbonara is one of my favourite pastas and I like it even better now. It was the most delicious pasta I have ever eaten and I followed that with a slice of Roman Cake which was also amazing.

Tomorrow I join my tour group and I am looking very forward to the adventures we will share together. Ciao!

Collette

Collette is a foundation phase teacher at a prominent boys’ school in Cape Town, South Africa. After 4 years of University and into her 2nd year of teaching, she has decided it’s time to see the world.