Adventures in Italy, Part 2 by Bryan

So the first night in Rome was spent pretty casually. We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Regent where the air conditioner was semi-disfunctional and the beds were twin extra long just like my old dorm room.

Our first voyage of sorts was to find food which is probably one of the hallmarks of our entire trip. Walking around the city trying to find a restaurant was how we spent 7.89% of our trip. Come on, we’re MIT students, EVERYTHING IS A NUMBER.

So we arrived at our first restaurant after not too much looking around, and to my surprise, the place was great.

A little lesson in Italian:
“Voray ordinare”
Translation: I would like to order.

And order I did.

Pizza de Quattro Formaggi
Translation: Four Cheese Pizza

Now here in the US, I’ve heard this pizza referred to as a “Blonde Pizza.” Now I’m not sure if it’s because of the color or because of the joke that I’m not going to say in my blog for fear of offending my yellow headed readership.

(When I was 2, I thought blondes meant you had red-hair).

The next morning we woke up with the Colosseum on our mind.

So we got on the Metro and got off at the Colosseum stop (appropriately named if I may say so myself).

MIT Run-In #1: After getting off the Metro and standing across the street from the Colosseum, we ran into our friend Lana ’08, who ran up to us and surprised us. I can sometimes be a paranoid traveller so the first thing I did was cover my pockets, but it was kind of random running into her 4000 miles away from MIT.

Continuing on:

We toured the Colosseum and Forum for the low price of 20 Euros. Now before I overwhelm you with a vignette of my 1000 photos from the trip, I’ll say that when I was in high school I wasn’t a big fan of world history, but seeing the Colosseum and Forum first-hand was simply breathtaking. You only hear stories or hear your parents remind you of the time they took you to Rome when you were 3, but seeing it all right there was just like wow.

And now for the pictures (and some commentary here and there):

Brendan, Mike (my roommate), Me

I don’t know what Brendan is looking at.

Now this made me a little perturbed, and if you who is responsible for this happens to be reading my blog…

Dear Vandal,

HOW DARE YOU inscribe your letters on the Colosseum like that? Didn’t your mom teach you any manners? Remember the saying: “Touch with your eyes, not with your hands.”

Sincerely,
Bryan

PS. Hook ’em Horns.

Now here’s a little money making trick. Wear a funky costume and ask people to take a picture with you. Give the camera to another guy in the same costume to take the picture. Refuse to give those photographed their camera until they pay you.

Moral of the story: Lose 10 Euros. Do not pass go.

After the Colosseum, we walked out to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where the monument has a ton of steps any of which if you sit on them, you get whistled at by the guards. Kind of exhilirating.

Finally, our trek brought us to the Trevi Fountain where I had some raspberry gelato and enjoyed this piece of art.