Journal #3 Amber Martinez

The traveling is finally over! First destination for the day is Rome. It's been a long couple days for the group of us, and after about two days we finally get to sleep in a bed! I can tell you we are all happy about that. This trip is finally a reality for us, and today as we got to see the Coliseum. We felt very accomplished about what the long year of fundraising has done for us.

After settling in at the hotel we had lunch and had time to shower before getting back on the bus. The first stop was the Roman Coliseum! As we drove toward the Coliseum, Isabella who was our tour guide, gave us a quick lesson on the history of the surrounding buildings. One thing I noticed was how tiny the cars were on the roads, and that so many people rode around on scooters within all the city's traffic.

When we get to the Coliseum, all of us were in awe of how huge the building was. The Coliseum stands at 55 meters tall and 47 meters below the ground. This place is huge and our entire team could not believe the size and age of the building. It was completed in 80 AD and took 8 years to build. We also got to see the remains of the roman empire's financial bank and also where Julius Caesar remains was cremated. 

We ended our first day at the Trevey Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Around the fountain were a lot of different restaurants where we ended up sitting down for dinner. We had our first real Italian pizza, cut in huge squares and ready to eat. Most of the team inhaled that pizza, but I don't know if it was because they were starving or because they really enjoyed the pizza. For desert we had gelato - One of many stops at the gelato shop! (even Owen loved it) Most of the team got coconut or mango flavored...Yumm! Now we are off to the Vatican City and getting ready for our first game! Let's go Chargers!!
Amber Martinez
#30