Roamin’ Around

One of my most life-changing travel experiences I had was Rome.
I fell in love with the ancient environment, and the still-standing buildings with architecture that blows your mind. The country is so small that we walked the entire perimeter of it, yet it holds such a telling story of history. I was in awe of Rome from the moment we arrived at our hostel, and I’m still in awe of it now. It deserves a blog post.

Let’s start with the Colosseum. A place that holds up to 80,000 spectators for gladiatorial contests and events like re-enactments of famous battles, animal hunts, executions, and dramas based on classical mythology. Could you imagine selling out the Colosseum? THAT’D BE INSANE.

One of my favorite parts of the Colosseum was the hypogeum, which is underground of the arena where animals were in cages and then lifted via elevators to be released to the arena. There were underground tunnels that led to certain parts outside of the Colosseum, which was used as an entrance for the animals and performers to get in.

As you’re standing there looking down into the barracks, you imagine yourself in a chaos of people running around making sure everything is lined up correctly. You hear a crowd roaring above you. You see animals locked in their cages, and you look to your buddy to the left and have to scream to even hear each other speak. It’s a madness that I’d love to experience outside of my imagination.

I was already fascinated in general by this massive structure, that I didn’t even think about how old it really is. Construction for the Colosseum began in AD 72 and was finished in AD 80.
OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO.
Mind = Blown.

Let me say this again. The Colosseum is so epic that it has sustained an average crowd of 65,000 for who knows how many years, and STILL (2,000 years later) is still standing, hosting tourists from all over the world to experience flashbacks of the past in this monumental construction.

I am extremely grateful I saw the Colosseum when I did. Rome had just started construction to restore it. A lot of the original stone and structures were there when I was visiting, in the pictures to the right you’ll be able to see what the difference is between the original stone and the new brick.

The restoration is bittersweet. It’s sad to see the original stone go, but it’s also beautiful to see the Colosseum remain tall. I’m glad they are maintaining the history so that we all have the opportunity to step foot in there and imagine ourselves in gladiator attire, howling with the animals. One of the most spectacular places I have ever seen in my lifetime so far.

After we explored the Colosseum, we headed to the Roman Forum, which only continued to fascinate me so much that I felt like my heart was exploding with joy. It’s so rich with history. There were countless times where I just stopped, became aware of my surroundings, took a deep breath, and valued the moment. Taking pauses along the journey to soak it all in really helps you create a memory book in your mind, but also bring you to a sense of appreciation and allows you to feel the emotions that different cultures, environments, and communities can bring.

The Roman Forum is the center of Rome. It was a marketplace where political, social, and religious gatherings would take place. According to the internet, Roman’s first started meeting around 500 B.C. That’s 2,517 years ago. That’s older than the Colosseum!!
*Brain Explodes*

Like I said, RICH WITH HISTORY. One of my favorite buildings in the Roman Forum was the Basilica of Maxentius. It was gigantic. I was overwhelmed with its size, shape, and aura. No matter where I was in the Forum, my eyes were always drawn to the Basilica. I just couldn’t look away. Maybe it has something to do with Basilica meaning “Royal Walkway.”

This beautiful piece of art has ceilings that are 130 ft. high and floors that are 6561 square feet! IT’S HUGE. Do you know the kind of gatherings you could host in here? Just look at all of the people down there, they look like ants compared to this thing.

Another oldie, but a goodie – the Temple of Antoniunus and Faustina. The Roman Catholic Church. This beauty was started construction in 141 AD. The oldest structure we have came across so far. I remember the feeling of this building towering over me as we walked by it. It was a Temple that struck your eye, just like the Basilica.

The Roman Forum left me speechless. I imagine attending meetings in the Forum and there being celebrations, debates, and historical events that kept the community lively and upbeat. Walking throughout these grounds calmed down all of the chaos after the visit of the Colosseum, and really grounded me to be aware of where I was, what I was experiencing, and how I was feeling. It also prepared us for a rather interesting tour in the Vatican, which is absolutely magical.

My favorite part was the Sistine Chapel, which I could not take photos of. The ceiling was full of life, with rich gold colors and everyone was just sitting and staring at it in awe. To believe one hand-painted that ceiling is incredible. Michelangelo was one talented man.

This sphere was another memorable piece of art that caught my attention as soon as we entered the Courtyard of the Pinecone at the Vatican Museum.

This sphere was created by an Italian sculpture, Arnoldo Pomodoro. There is no clarity as to what message he was portraying, but it is believed to show how complex our planet is and how easy it can be torn apart. I would like his work to be in my office one day.

Another attention grabber in the Courtyard was this peacock. The combination of the colors of the statues and the dome is genius. It gave me the urge to dance softly to a beautiful ballad. It’s so appealing to the eye. You look at it and fall in love a bit.

There is no clear statement on what this statue means. However, they both have symbolism. For example, the peacock is connected to immortality, royalty, pride, and renewal. The pinecone is known for resembling the pineal gland, which is also known as our third eye. UH OH. Looks like I was getting my chakras aligned before I even knew what chakras were. It’s also associated with spiritual enlightenment.

It just so happens that that exact pinecone statue coincidentally used to be in the Roman Fountain near the Pantheon. Funny how life works, huh?

While the Vatican was memorable and great to see, there’s just something about the Colosseum and Roman Forum that caught my attention more. So much so, that we ended up going back to the Colosseum twice. It was like the universe knew we were heading back there because as soon as we got there the sun came out, and we were able so sit and enjoy the weather with a great view of unique, ancient, remarkable Colosseum. Such a unique view that about a week after we were there, Kendall Jenner posted a photo at the exact location we were sitting at.

Rome has so many cool, historical, mesmerizing places to see. Another one being the Trevi Fountain. I saw it once at night, and once during the day and it was impressive in both lighting. The fountain seems to have no bad angles. A few of my favorite things about this fountain in particular is that it’s so detailed, you can make wishes with coins, and there’s a super cute and delicious gelato place conveniently on the corner. I will say I was a bit thrown off by the size of the fountain in person. I was expecting it to be a lot larger compared to what I’ve seen in movies and in pictures. Not that the size made it any less grand, but pictures do make it look larger.

Rome stole my heart. I’m not one to go back to places that I’ve already been when I could take that opportunity to go somewhere new, but I would go back to Rome in a heartbeat.

Traveling to different countries and learning new cultures is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in life. When you add great company to the equation, it just makes it that much more enjoyable and impactful. I’m so grateful I got to experience this country with two extremely important people in my life. Eva, who I met freshman year of college. She was my random neighbor and she just couldn’t get enough of me. She was studying abroad in London, so when I went to visit we spent 5 days in London, and 2 in Rome. While in Rome, we met up with Zaskhia, who was a foreign exchange student from France that lived with us my sophomore year of high school that I don’t see nearly as often as I should. Seeing Zaskhia is a flush of emotions as flashbacks to high school set in and we reminisce on our memories and update one another on how our lives now. Hopefully we’ll be meeting somewhere overseas again soon.