My first day in Rome

So, yesterday morning, I woke up, stretched, and then realized: I am in Rome!!! I really didn't know what I wanted to do first, so I did what most tourists do: ancient Rome and the Colloseum. I checked my map, planned my route, and walked for about three minutes before it all came into view. There is was, just ahead, the Colosseum, surrounded by an intersection with people and cars and buses all going on with their lives, just like the Ancient Roman Colloseum wasn't right there in front of us! :) I felt like everybody should be just as awestruck as I and stop and look at it or something :) I walked through the ruins of ancient Rome first. It almost felt like going back in time to be there among what was left of this period of history and culture and spent most of the day walking around, looking through the remains of another era of humanity. It made me feel very human, and as the sun started setting, I sat down among the ancient relics on a stone in the shade and wrote in my journal. I had this feeling that this was a moment that I would only get once in a lifetime, and it was one I wanted to remember. So, as the sun began to set, I decided to head back the hostel to meet my roommates. I share a room with five other people, and they are all great. We shared stories about where we were from, our travels, and our time so far in Rome. I just love meeting other people who don't think it is crazy to backpack through Europe!!! :) I got along with two of my roommates especially well (Lars and Hector) and we decided to go visit the Fontana di Trevi. This beautiful spot was packed with people: couples sharing a bottle of wine; vendors selling roses, toys, balloons; groups of friends enjoying Rome together. The legend of this fountain is that if you throw a coin in over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome again. Then, if you throw another coin and make a wish, it will come true. So, we got some gellato (the best I have ever had) and sat and talked and threw our coins of course. I had a great time getting to know these people, talking about our similarities and differences, laughing together (a lot), and just living "la dolce vita." On our way back to the hostel, we decided to walk by the Pantheon to see it lit up at night. To our surprize, they were filming a movie there! It was in German, and luckily, one of my friends was German, so he translated everything for us to understand. The acting was really bad, and he guessed it would be a TV movie, but we had fun watching the production. We ended our night on a high note laughing our way back to the hostel and crashing happily into bed. This whole day has been one of the most beautiful of my life... one that I know I will always remember.