Day 5: Rome

We got up to go to the Vatican by subway, but were delayed by one of the students who overslept. The subway system in Rome is very simple compared to London and Paris.

We got there and managed to get in the shade, as the temperature was very warm. We got a tour guide who took us through the Vatican. It was a long 2-3 hour tour that was miserable for the kids because the tour talked about the history of the Vatican and its treasures. 

After we left the Vatican, we went shopping at the various stores near the Vatican. We had lunch at the St. Peters Café, where I almost went through the line without ordering anything. I did get tortellini and pasta salad.

St. Peter's square at the Vatican

At the Roman Forum with Jon

Another Roman Forum picture with Ted

In the afternoon, the group went to the Roman Forum and got the tour from the same guide who gave us the Vatican tour. When we got to the Coliseum, most of the kids opted out of the tour because they were sick of walking. The rest paid 10,000 Lira to enter the classic landmark. I entered in surprise to see how a stage had been placed on top of the floor of the Coliseum. The first performance of the Coliseum will happen tomorrow night. The Greek tragedy "Oedipus" will be shown. A small section of the actual seating was repaired for this to happen.

Steve at the Roman Coliseum

We arrived back at the rendezvous and decided to split up. Nine kids wanted to go back to the hotel after a long day, while the others wanted to go shopping. Since my chaperones wanted to shop, I got to take the others back to the hotel. After discussions whether to ride a taxi or not, we decided to walk and find the place using the map. We headed in the right direction of the hotel always wondering if we were on the right street.

We were successful and so I headed up to my room to do some laundry. I managed to read, relax, and even not fall asleep as I waited for the time to walk to the place we were having supper.

The kids were certainly getting sick of our continuous Italian menu, especially the lettuce with a great vinaigrette, and pasta. I still enjoyed it, as I knew that this was part of the culture.

Afterwards, the girls went shopping and the rest went to explore the neighborhood. I took some students to the train and subway terminal to explore.

I did the bed check and finally got to call my family. Then I discovered my blister. It was on my left foot under my middle toe. My bedtime that evening was 1:30.