ROMA...Part 3

I know I know, it's been a week since I went to Rome, but here it is, the final chapter of my trip to Rome.  The day began with a fairly crummy breakfast at the Hostel where we planned out our day.  Then we saddled up our backpacks and headed to the Colosseum.  Next we walked down the Via di S. Gregorio which is lined with 'roman pine trees, the funny pine trees with all the needles in a plume high up on the trunk.  The road leads to the Circus Maximus (no big top here though).  It's a stadium which used to seat 250,000 people.  Now it's just a linear hole with grass on the slopes, a few ruins at one end, but it does seem to make a nice dog park. 

Our next stop was the Baths of Caracalla.  These are like a large YMCA for the ancient Romans.  There were swimming pools, locker rooms, steam rooms, cold rooms...etc.  The ruins were impressive.  Huge thick walls about three stories high, intricate mosaic floors, and the site was huge.  

By the time we finished at the baths we were starving so we rode the subway back to the Barberini station to go to the Trevi Fountain and the Michelangelo exhibit that is being advertised throughout Rome.  Lunch was just ok, I had a sandwich with real ham (not weird Italian ham), tomatoes, and slices of hardboiled egg which was different but delicious.  Next we went to the Trevi Fountain, made a wish, took some pictures, people watched, and then got some Gelatto (Nutella and Pistachio...YUMM)  I was particularly excited about the exhibit because I've been reading The Agony and the Ecstasy: a Biographical Novel of Michelangelo.  The exibit was of works of Renissance art inspired by Michaelangelo and Raffael and done by their students. 

We got through the exhibit and realized that we needed to start heading back to the Termini Station...and fast.  We weren't quite sure how long it would take to get to the Termini so we were a little nervous.  We ended up making it back with no problems and ended meeting up with some of our classmates on the train.  Apparently the train ride took a little longer than expected but I passed out the minute I shut my eyes.  When I woke up my classmates were having a minor panic because we weren't sure where our stop was!  There were 5 different train maps in the car but none of them said Orvieto.  The ladies sitting next to us told us they were getting off at Orvieto and that it was only a couple more stops.  PHEW. 

It was long trip, and my feet were very, very sore but it was totally worth it.  Surprisingly, I wasn't that impressed with the city: It was like always being a museum with many exhibits in repair and was also too busy for my taste.  I will go back, but I was happy to be back in Orvieto when the weekend was over. 
Here are some photos of Sunday

At the beginning of the day in front of the Colosseum

The swimming pool at the Baths of Caracalla

Half of the ruins at the Baths.  Where I'm standing used to be a whole other part of the building but is not there anymore. 

Mosaic floor at the Baths.  Each piece of mosaic is about the size of a nickel.

Makin' a Wish :)

I'm sorry it took so long to finish posting about this trip.  It's been kind of a lazy week.  Snow makes us just want to curl up on the couch, in the kitchen to try and stay warm.

Cliff Hanger:  See the next post...

CIAO!