June 22 Rome

Wow! Today was a very long and wonderful day. We started at the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Roman Forum was the heart of ancient Rome. This is where people gathered, where the Senate met to decide on new laws, where the temples were to worship the gods, where prisoners were held, etc. Of course, it is in ruins now but it was amazing to see how complex and grand the city once was. Palatine Hill overlooks the Roman Forum and was the place several Roman emporers lived. According to Roman legend, the Palatine Hill was the place that two twins, Romulus and Remus, were found and raised by a she wolf. Later on, Romulus kills Remus and founds the city of Rome. That is how Rome gets its name, from Romulus.

Later on, we visited the Pantheon. This building was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa a few years before Christ as a building to worship all the Roman gods. However, since the 7th century, it has been used as a Roman Catholic church. After the Pantheon we walked around town for a bit and went to the Spanish steps (which is reported to be the longest and widest staircase in Europe) and the Trevi Fountain, which at 85 feet high and 65 feet wide, is one very impressive fountain. We then went back to the room and I took a very needed jacuzzi bath.