Europe Day 16: Longevity, Almonds and Cashews

The King Dome lasted for twenty-eight years.  The Pantheon has been around for one thousand, eight hundred, and ninety-one years.

It is still standing.

People are still using it.

The Romans planned for longevity.

Origionally, it was a temple for several Roman gods.  It now functions as a Christian church.  This circular building has a domed roof with a hole it in.  Rumor is that when it rains, the water does not come into the buildling.  Apparently it has something to do with air pressure, the rain evaporating in the air before it hits the ground, or something like that.  I'm not really sure, but if it rains while we are here, I am going there to see if it is true.

We also went to the Roman Forum.  Once upon a time, it was a bustling city center, where all of the political things happened.  Unfortunately, barbarians tore it apart.  Had they not intentionally destroyed it, all of those fantastic buldings would still be standing for us to enjoy today. Instead, we are forced to imagine what once was.  I wanted to wander through the remains of the buildings and pretend to live life thousands of years ago, but everything was fenced off.  Safety reasons I suppose. Pft.  Who cares about safety?  I wanted to imagine!

Since the rules cannot be changed for only my sake, I returned to the hotel with everyone else.  We went back to the Chinese place for dinner, but lunch was a little restaurant that was very Italian.  One thing they do here is have a pre-planned, three or four course dinner called a "menu," usually at a discounted price.  So, you pick which of the three or for menus you like, and enjoy those pre-selected dishes.  I had noodles wrapped around cheese and spinach.  It looked sort of like a burrito with red sauce on top, but a very Italian buritto.  Second course was chicken, french fries, and salad.  It felt much less authentic than the Italian burritos, but I still enjoyed it.  Dessert was tiramisu. I don't recall ever eating a full peice before; I'm not a big fan of coffee so I always assumed I would like something else better.  But this was really delicious!  The cake was so moist, the topping so creamy, and it was altogether a wonderful thing!

I'm still not feeling very well, but the cold medicine my Mommy sent me with has really been helping!  I have the night time version, so I managed to sleep for a good eight hours without waking up to cough.  I felt more rested than I have in a while!
In our hotel here in Rome we do not get a free breakfast.  So, this morning Kayla, Josh, Alli and I set out to find some food.  The grocery store was no where to be found, but we managed to make our way to Campo de Fiore, where there was the most beautiful fruit I had ever seen!  I have never eaten an uncooked artichoke before, but they were so beautiful!  Soft greens and lovely purples-it was so tempting to get one, if only to look at it! But, I didn't.  I chose some fiji apples instead.  There was also a nut and dried fruit seller, so I picked up unsalted (or "natural" as the man who helped me called them) almonds and cashews.  They are so yummy!  I LOVE almonds and cashews!

I'll be here for about nine more days.  I think I'm really going to enjoy it! I intend to eat lunch in the colloseum some time, and toss several wishes worth of coins into the trevy fountain.  It's going to be fun!