We woke up early to catch the high speed train to Rome. Pete was unable to join us right away, but he made sure to talk up how cool the train was and promised to join us later that evening.
The train was a great way to travel, getting up to 300 km/hr and not even seeming like it. When we arrived in Rome, we proceeded to the train station exit where we lined up to wait for a cab. Our cab driver, a young Italian man, aggressively drove us through the busy and narrow streets of Rome, joining the other small vehicles in honking at pedestrians, Vespas, and even police cars. At one point, he actually got out of the vehicle to angrily yell at an Italian man dressed in a suit who had apparently failed to recognize proper pedestrian behavior. We eventually made it to the address of our hotel, though you'd never know it was a hotel by looking at it.
We walked in the door and found a tiny elevator and staircase which we were to use to get to our hotel on the fifth floor. I was skeptical, but when we walked in we were very kindly greeted by the hotel manager and were promptly taken up to the rooftop balcony where we could wait while our rooms were prepared. The manager showed us the hot tubs and explained that the whole area was ours to use to free, and that they would serve us with complimentary beverages throughout the day and breakfast in the morning. We sat and had a coffee and took some pictures, and the manager gave us tourist maps and explained how to get to various areas throughout the city. It was a perfect start to our time in Rome.
The manager gave us a recommendation for a lunch restaurant close to the hotel across the river. It was a beautiful day, and we sat outside on the patio and enjoyed a wonderful meal of seafood gnocci for me (which ended up being one of my favorite dishes) and seared tuna with fresh tomato salad for Noah. We proceeded to walk to Ancient Rome.
Ancient Rome
The Roman Forum is a huge complex of ruined temples, basillicas, and arches. It was the ceremonial, legal, social, and business center of ancient Rome. As we wondered through the large property, I just tried to picture what it looked like in ancient times and tried to transport myself back in time to understand early civilization. 
We proceeded to wonder around Palatine Hill, where the emperors and aristocrats of ancient Rome lived starting in the first century B.C. We continued to be impressed as we hiked through the area and tried to absorb all we were seeing.
We ventured on to visit the famous Colosseum, the huge, impressive ampitheater built in the first century AD. It held an estimated 55,000 people and was the scene of gladiatorial and wild animal fights. It is even more impressive than you'd expect. I stood in awe as Noah talked about its history, describing what he learned from the History Channel about how the battles changed throughout the years, and how they even flooded the sublevel for mock naval battles. It was amazing to me how closely this huge ancient structure resembles our modern stadiums.
After spending about 4 hours experiencing Ancient Rome, we started walking back towards our hotel. Our route took us straight through tourist central, with tourist snack carts lined up and several vendors selling "Selfie sticks." I was initially surprised at how touristy it was, but then realized it was a major city with major attractions, like you'd find near Navy Pier in Chicago. We grabbed a snack of Roman style pizza, which were thick, rectangular pieces of pizza that they cut (with scissors) in half and wrapped up cheese side together to go like a sandwich. We relaxed on our hotel rooftop, planned our activities for the next day, relaxed, and got ready for dinner. We met up with Peter at a nearby restaurant--it was exactly what you would picture a family-style Italian restaurant to look like, complete with a large man who managed the restaurant and served us. We enjoyed an antipasta combo with breads, marinated veggies and meats, and Kelley and I shared a gruyere cheese fondu for dinner. Noah had veal with mushroom sauce, and Pete a sliced steak dish recommended by the manager. It was another pleasant, true Italian meal. We headed back to the hotel after our late dinner knowing we'd be waking up early for our tour at the Vatican the next morning.
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