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After a good first night's rest in Rome, it was boots on the ground for a lot of exploration of Rome with our guide, Dotty. The day started off at, once again, the arguably most iconic building in Rome, the Colosseum. I've already marveled at the engineering prior to this but standing there for the second time in two days wasn't any less overwhelming. After a brief explanation of its history (I did now know the Colosseum was named after the Colossus statue of Nero), we were granted entry into the building. The same wave of fear came over me as it did in the amphitheater in Pompeii. On tis ground, tens of thousands of men and wild animals were slaughtered either by execution, hunting and even death match. I looked around at the stands and pictured 50,000+ Roman senators, nobles and commoners screaming and shouting in the heat of the games, cheering for their favorite competitors. The next few hours were spent on the hill where the former emperors of Rome watched over their people, the Paletine Hill. Via the Paletine Hill, we were able to see almost all of the ruins of ancient Rome. Starting off with a spectacular view of the Circus Maximus, we made our way through former homes of emperors such as Nero, Augustus and Marcus Aurelius. Eventually, we made our way to what was once the heart of Rome, the Forum. Hearing all the tales surrounding the forums, such as the history of the Vestal Virgins and the Temple of Vestia with its brazier that was to never extinguish, Julius Caesar's murder and ascension to become the Divine Julius and tales of infamous rulers such as Cleopatra, Augustus and Marc Antony made me stop and try to take it all in. All of this happened right here in front of us and here we were standing and walking over where the Romans of ancient times walked, talked and thrived (until their downfall that is but such is history). After a long afternoon of roaming the Forum and its rich history, it was time to break for lunch and off to visit some of Rome's famous churches for the first time this trip. My experiences with churches in general was minimal not being Catholic. However, after seeing some of these churches, the bar has been set very high. These were some of the most beautifully churches (and buildings) I had seen. The chapels, naves and altars were all unique in their own beautiful artistic ways and all of them were an incredible sight to see. We only had time to visit a handful of them, namely the San Pietro in Vincoli and Castro Pretorio, but I knew there was more to come and I was anxious for the next few days to discover what was to come. It had finally come time to explore Rome's night life and we had heard of a very popular club allegedly made of ice. With our curiosity getting the better of us, we decided to go out and explore this aptly called "Ice Club". It delivered. The entire bar was made of ice. Complete with ice sculptures of the Caesars, ice walls and even glasses made of ice, this visit was truly one for the books. This in addition to a very Irish bartender who entertained us with hilarious tales and the occasional free round of drinks made for a really unique experience. Were we going to have some regret in the morning for staying up late? Maybe but the motto for the week was "When in Rome" and we weren't going to fail it now.
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