Day 3 – Cornetti, churches and Colosseo – Maia, Mia, Charlie & Florence

Day 3 (Rome) – by Maia, Mia, Charlie & Florence

Today was our first full day in Rome, Italy, and it was jam-packed with fun and adventurous activities. It all started with waking up to a fresh morning and having a delicious buffet breakfast. They served a variety of food and drinks – from cornetti to pie and from tea to juice.

After breakfast, we got our day bags and dived into our exciting new adventure!

The first sight we saw was the Santa Maria Church (St Mary Church). It is dedicated to Jesus’s mother, Mary, and all mothers. The ceiling was made mostly of 18 karat gold. Much of the marble was actually taken from the Colosseum! The main attraction is the relic – the wood of what was supposedly Jesus’s crib.

After that first church, we travelled down to St Peter’s Church where St Peter was supposedly chained. Even though it was smaller than St Mary’s Church is was still humongous.

We went to a nearby shop and bought refreshing cold drinks and ice creams as a remedy for the hot sun. We also bought focaccias for later in the day. The options were ham and cheese, tomato and cheese and prosciutto. Afterwards, we walked to the Colosseum. The crowds were massive and we had to wait for ages in the sun. The security was very quick and they hardly glanced into our bags before we were allowed in.

After all of that we climbed the many crumbling stone stairs to see the inside of the Colosseum. It was amazing and very impressive that is had stayed standing and was so big even after more that 2000 years!

We were told an amazing historical story by our guide, Mario. Then we walked around the Colosseum, taking in all the information. We bought presents and postcards for our friends and family at the gift shop. As we walked away from the Colosseum (Colosseo), we thought of all the memories that would stay with us forever. It was super fun and exciting.

Once we had walked out, our tour guide took us to the Forum which is a group of old temples that are in ruins, but some have survived. There were also a lot of tombs and plants. We had lots of fun and made loads of memories.

There was an interesting story that we heard: There was a man who became emperor who loved his wife very much. When she passed he fell into a deep depression. To preserve his undying love for her he built a temple in her honour. When he died, his people engraved his name in his wife’s temple so they may be united for all of eternity.

For dinner we met up with a friend from BSPS in Australia, Paris! At the restaurant we had a very enjoyable three course meal. The first course was a pasta with a tomato sauce. The second course was some diced then cooked potatoes with a big meat ball. Then the lovely tiramisu which was a nice combination of custard and cream to ground espresso beans. After a long, hard day we all relaxed in our hotel room and finally went to bed and got a good night’s rest.