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September 8th, Free Day |
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written
by Lesley Everett / 07.04.2004 |
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Itinerary |
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| Bocca della Verita |
| A fake replica of the "Mouth of Truth" |
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| Circo Massimo |
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Monday was a free day with no field trip or class, so everyone was set loose to do whatever they liked. Six of the group (Allie, Stephanie, Angela, Jenny, and the Pauls) took the train to Florence on Sunday and stayed there all of Monday, but the rest of us came back to Rome Sunday afternoon.
I had planned quite an extensive walk and exploration day for Monday, but when I woke up it was pouring down rain and thundering. The storm was much louder and more severe than the others I've seen while in Italy, and it easily gave some of our Seattle downpours a good run for their money. I was surpised at how often lightning bolts rattled down around the horizon, too, and by the funny way the Italians try to avoid the rain. Needless to say, I easily convinced myself to stay in bed and relax for the morning, after which I went to the computer lab and worked on class assignments until noon. By then the rain had cleared up so Ben and I went on a walk. We headed south down the river and through the Jewish Ghetto district, then to Aventino hill and over to the Circo Massimo below the Colosseum. We spent a few minutes sitting at a lookout point over the Circo and directly across from Palatine Hill. I enjoyed just relaxing in the sun and watching the locals play frisbee and jog around the "track" with the Palatine Hill ruins as a backdrop. I think it's great the way the Romans use and enjoy the ancient sights for every day activities- the Circo Massimo is a historically important area, but it's used like a park and public field.
Other highlights of our walk included the Fontana delle Tartarughe (tortoise fountain), the "Sinagoga," Teatro di Marcello, and Santa Maria in Cosmedin where the Bocca della Verita (mouth of truth) is located. We walked up through the Forum and then back to the Campo for a lazy afternoon. I went on a wonderful run along the Tiber up to Ponte Matteotti and back, after which Eliana and I went shopping and cooked a terrific stir fry for dinner. Just after that all of the Florence travelers got home and played show and tell with their purchases. Everyone was tired, though, so we all went to bed very early to catch up on sleep after the busy weekend.
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Highlights |
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The best parts of my day were my evening run and cooking dinner with Eliana. I went out right around 5 o'clock when the heat wasn't bad and there was a little breeze down by the river. I like to run on the lower stone walkway right next to the water rather than up by the road because it's much more quiet and not crowded there. Walking or running along the river is a great way to observe the neighborhood and to catch glimpses of St. Peter's, Castel Sant' Angelo, the bridges with angels and statues, and of the locals walking their dogs or out for an evening stroll.
Dinner was very enjoyable, too, especially because we got a little creative and both of us absolutely refused to eat any more pasta, bread, or cheese. We made stir fry with honey chicken, shrimp, zucchini, spinach, pine nuts, and basmati rice and it was all so good! I'd been craving Asian food for a couple weeks now, so stir fry hit the spot perfectly. All in all it was a very relaxing and fun evening, and I'm also really glad because Eliana and I got to know each other a little better.
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