First we drove to the Colosseum. Originally called the Colosseum because of a giant Colossus (statue) of the emperor outside of the gates, this marvel of architecture was so great that it withstood the crowds of over 50,000 people as well as wards, bombings, and thievery. Due to the myth that the Romans persecuted Christians in the giant structure, the Catholic Church has put a lot of money into the restoration and preservation of the church, so it is in the state it is today highly because of church money. I enjoyed it, however, and spent, in my opinion, far too little time inside.
We then got to see another park of ruins which still remain. This was the Roman Forum and it was very close to the ancient Senate and the Palatine hill where the governing of Rome went on. The stately columns and arches are all real and, for me, made me imagine that I was strolling around with the Romans of old and that any second I would turn around and see a senator or a praetorian guardsman walking along doing his work.
One really cool part of all of this was the prison where Peter and Paul where kept and from which God helped them escape. I never realized that I could even be walking around with things from the Bible, let alone the history books.
We were then released and, again, had free time to make our way around the city as we pleased. The very center of town I was able to get some good pictures of the capitol building. Also, I stopped by Trajan’s Column, the famous depiction, in 30 stories of column, of the Roman conquests in battle.
After me, Matthew Prepis, and Cesar Rainho had bought all of the presents and gag gifts for that evening, we hopped a subway and made it back to the hotel to prepare for the Senior Banquet.
Our restaurant was called Comparone and was located in Trastevere, the region across the Tiber River. The food was excellent, the company enthralling, and the atmosphere was perfect. Each senior was able to give a 3 minute speech and conduct one song for the whole Glee Club to sing. I was very happy to share this event with everyone in Glee Club but it was, again, a very emotional time for me. I did make it to the end of my speech without having to sit down and we had a great rest of the meal singing, laughing, enjoying stories, and thanking those that needed to be thanked.
At the end of it all, we went to a nearby piazza (Santa Maria di Trastevere) and sang all together around the central fountain. We performed into the wee hours of the morning and then walked around Rome together even later just enjoying our last night together as the 2010-2011 Glee Club.
We all managed to get back to the hotel safely and soundly and make it to the 6:00 bus loading. After a hasty breakfast, the Glee Club, senza deviating members, made their way onto the bus and at 6:55AM on the dot, they headed for the airport. I am now sitting in the lobby of our hotel with Brian Thomas, my friend who I am deviating with, waiting to leave for our 9:20PM train to Sicily and thinking about our trip. I am very sad to see all of my friends go but I am so very happy to have spent such a great time with all of them here in Italy and at home in America. Our motto is Ever Changing yet Eternally the Same so I do believe that while I will be leaving the group now, the Glee Club will go on as it has and grow in love of each other, of our Alma Mater, and of our music.
I will be in Spain and Sicily for the next two weeks so I hope that you will consider reading my blog further and that you have enjoyed this section in mainland Italy.
Wish me luck and sometime soon I will be updating you from across the Mediterranean!
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