Day 3 - Rome

Wow! What a long day. Didn't sleep great last night, guess I was too excited about seeing Rome; might also have been all the dam noise out the windor, or the thunder storm. I stayed at the Friendship Place Hostel on Via Milazzo which is aprently a busy part of town (being right close to the central station (Termini)). Got out of bed @ 8ish to pouring rain which cleared up by 9. Said goodbye to my roommates and told the owner that i'd know if i was staying another night by noon so he let me lock my bag in a spare room cause check out is at 10am. Took off for Termini to meet Aunt Faye 'by the bus' at 10' which sounded like a good idea until I saw all the flipping buses at Termini and of course the PEOPLE! So i picked out a spot right in the middle of everyting and made myself look as touristy as possibly (not har) and stick out as much as possible (not hard either). Faye found me no problem. We hugged and then decided we'd find me another place for the night closer to her place so we grabbed my bag from my hostel and ended up working a deal for me to spend the night in her double room at the Hotel Papa Germano for only 10 Euro extra. So i dropped off my bag and we grabbed my first italian cappuccino. 6 ounces gave me such a buzz that i felt drunk. From there we walked. Then we walked some more. We pretty much walked straight from 11:30am till 7pm. It was freakin' awesome though. We walked basically from Termini to the Santa Maria Maggiore to the Colliseum, around the Colliseum, past the Arco Di Constantino, around the Roman Forum and past Circo Massimo (Circus Maximum), then through part of the Roman Forums, then northwest part the Canpidoglio or the Ara Coelri (not sure of the name), then around the Piazza Verezia (several times), then lunch, then up into the church dedicated to Caterina de Siena, and then into the Pantheon, then a quick stop for gelatos and then i convinced Faye to heard further north past the Palazzo Chigi and up to, and all the way up, the spanish steps. Walking up the spanish steps i had to tell Faye for the second time to 'Grow some balls, throw them over your shoulder, and let's go!'. She was a trooper all day though i have to admit. From there we walked all the way home and relaxed for awhile before heading for a 3 hour dinner at the place on the same street as our hotel (our table was RIGHT on the street). After dinner Faye crashed and i walked a German girl from Hanburg who i'd met before dinner back to her hostel (never let ladies walk alone at night....especialy in Rome, although i was shitting myself all the way home alone).
The day started on a huge hilight for me when i got to see the Colliseum. I've been waiting for years to see it and it didn't disappoint. It was amazing (i hope i don't over use that word in the next 3 months....probably will)! I was in utter awe and speechless. Me and Faye sat down across the street and had a Stella Artois (beer) each. What a way to have my first drink in Europe. Perfect.
Walking through a part of the ruins of the Roman Forums was amazing as wella dn i definately want to go back with Rob and take a tour inside the Colliseum and see all of the Roman Forums.
The monument a Vittorio Emanuelle II (whoever the hell he is) was prety impressive too. Everything here just seems to be so oversized...except the streets. Whcih bring me to my next topic...driving. All of the roads here are soooooooooooo narrow and basically all cobble stone too. And ppl park everywhere and ANYWHERE. I've never seen so many scooters in my life either. The drivers are all nuts and there are basically no cross lights for walking. You just have to walk out where its painted, like the crosswalks at Walmart, and hope the cards stop. Although what usually happens is the cars, buses, and scooters will just swerve around you. Its crazy, but as they say 'When in Rome....try not to get yourself killed'. It's insane, but i love it and can't wait to come back with Rob. Its 2am now, we leave Rome early tomorrow for the Tuscany region. Our turn to swerve around pedestrians.....