We got up this morning for breakfast and found a fun little place by the old racetrack square. The guy who gave us coffee was nice and smiley--his name was Aurelio (kind of like the emperor).
So there's a common rule I noticed by the middle of our first day: when you order food at a restaurant, they do not expect you to pay right away--in fact, they don't want you to. Generally, you order, sit down, and they bring you your food (or you go and get it when it's ready). When you're done, you head up to the counter and pay, then leave. Even fast food places--it's like a sit-down restaurant mostly wherever you go. Except gelato. Anyway, I guess that's where most of our cultural education is coming from, at the moment. We're forced to interact when we go get food. I'm becoming painfully aware that my limited Italian vocabulary isn't serviceable. I think I'll study some more phrases tonight so I can communicate a little better. Unfortunately, some people aren't trying at all, really, which I think is kind of funny, since we're in their country, not ours.
Today we rode the bus to the Colosseum and went through a guided tour through the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon. Our tour guide was wonderful and very nice--she was originally from Switzerland, came to Italy when she was 9, and then came to Rome to teach. It was very hot and a long way to walk, but there were cold water fountains at regular intervals, so we filled up our water bottles frequently. The funny thing we're noticing is that we hardly ever need to go to the bathroom, even with the massive amounts of water we're consuming, because we're sweating it all out. It's pretty funny, actually.
So there's a common rule I noticed by the middle of our first day: when you order food at a restaurant, they do not expect you to pay right away--in fact, they don't want you to. Generally, you order, sit down, and they bring you your food (or you go and get it when it's ready). When you're done, you head up to the counter and pay, then leave. Even fast food places--it's like a sit-down restaurant mostly wherever you go. Except gelato. Anyway, I guess that's where most of our cultural education is coming from, at the moment. We're forced to interact when we go get food. I'm becoming painfully aware that my limited Italian vocabulary isn't serviceable. I think I'll study some more phrases tonight so I can communicate a little better. Unfortunately, some people aren't trying at all, really, which I think is kind of funny, since we're in their country, not ours.
Today we rode the bus to the Colosseum and went through a guided tour through the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon. Our tour guide was wonderful and very nice--she was originally from Switzerland, came to Italy when she was 9, and then came to Rome to teach. It was very hot and a long way to walk, but there were cold water fountains at regular intervals, so we filled up our water bottles frequently. The funny thing we're noticing is that we hardly ever need to go to the bathroom, even with the massive amounts of water we're consuming, because we're sweating it all out. It's pretty funny, actually.
Some pictures from today:
Part of the Imperial residence, a little ways from the Colosseum.
Entrance to the Imperial residences.
Most of the brick wall in the Colosseum had tons of names carved in them from all over. I saw lots of Italian names, but some people from England, the US, and Canada, too.
More ruins from the Imperial residences.
Inside the Colosseum.
We had to wear these earpieces and little radio receivers for the tour so we could hear our tourguide. We were the ultimate tourists. Which led to this picture.
Might go to a performance of Mozart's requiem in a church tonight, but I need to do homework now. And take a nap.
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