Day 4: Eternal Layers

Hello again!

We woke up this morning about a half hour earlier than normal to go tour the FAO, which is a United Nations organization dedicated to bettering food, quality, and access to food around the world.



We got to learn about how this organization operates using three delegates from each country involved. This photo below is one of the beautiful artworks hanging above one of the three main conference rooms!



We then went to the Colosseum where we toured the site, learning all about gladiators, the impact of entertainment on politics, and the ancient site's architecture! We had an incredible tour guide who spent the morning with us answering all of our questions.








After that, we explored the beautiful Palentine Hill, which holds the remains of where the emperor lived. We walked through the various buildings and explored the different rooms including a very fancy dining room. The dinning room floor was elevated above the ground to allow warm air from the kitchen fire to pass under the floor and heat it in the cooler weather. We could see points where the floor had partially collapsed into the air tunnels.



Before lunch, we finally explored the beautiful Roman Forum! Although only about 1/3 of it is visible today, there were still so many columns and pieces to explore and learn about.





We had lunch at a pizzeria, where the pizza had a hard crust. I personally had a slice of pepperoni and a slice of escarole, which had a delicious combination of olives, seasoning, and greens. Everyone got to choose their own flavors and some of us had some suppli - fried rice balls with a filling such as tomato and mozerella.

After lunch, we headed to the Circus Maximus, but not just to see the ruins—we went full-on VR mode. We watched the Circus Maximus change through time, from its prime as a massive chariot racing stadium to a political gathering location. Seeing it come alive like that made it easier to picture the crowds, the races, the energy of ancient Rome in a way that just standing there never could.



(Image of VR lenses)




With everyone's feet a little sore from our adventuring, we made a trip to the farmacia to get some new insoles.



(Ms. Ducharme cutting insoles to fit in people's shoes)

Next stop: Saint Clemente’s Basilica, which felt like a completely different kind of time travel. Above ground, it’s a beautiful medieval church, and beneath the church, it had an ancient Roman Mithraic cult temple and the cooling system for minted coins.



By the time dinner rolled around, we went to the first Chinese restaurant in Rome. After days of pasta and pizza, sitting down to familiar flavors was great. The place felt homey, with walls covered in photos of famous visitors and Chairman Mao. After days of Italian food, the bold flavors and rice felt GREAT.



Un saluto,



Mason & JJ