Daily Details: July 5

After finally getting to sleep in a bit, we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. Me and my three closest friends on the trip, Malory, Whitney, and Beccah took a taxi to the LDS church in Rome. It was a neat experience to attend church there and see that nothing is really different from church back at home. A missionary from St. George sat in the middle of us and translated for us. It was neat to see how close everyone in the ward is to each other—they really are a family. Their testimonies are so strong, and we even got to see a man get confirmed.

Next, we dashed off to see the Roman Forum, except when we got there, hundreds of Italian police were lining the entrances to that and the Coliseum and were not allowing anyone to enter. After about an hour, we found out it was because the President of China was inside. Dang the President of China! They finally started letting people in, but we would only have an hour to see stuff, and it was hardly worth the 12 euro entrance fee.

We headed off to dinner, and found a quaint square that was full of sidewalk cafes. I didn’t eat, because quite honestly, Italian food is HORRIBLE!!! I don’t really even like Americanized Italian food, but the authentic stuff is even worse. I was able to enjoy the little bands that would come by and play for us. It made me feel like I was finally in Italy, because up until that point, I didn’t really believe I was actually there.

One of my favorite experiences during my whole time in Rome came after dinner. We walked and stumbled upon another square. The building in front of us was INCREDIBLE, and we soon found out that it was the office of tourism and the Brazilian Consulate. As we walked past, we saw a group of people starting to accumulate. We stopped to see what it was, and it was a street performer. He was SO much fun to watch, and at the end of his performance he was on a 10’ tall unicycle, juggling flaming batons. My favorite part about this square was the number of artists that were all around. They all had beautiful watercolors of Rome. Lone guitarists were playing music at different points along the square, and I soon heard one of my all-time favorite songs being played—“Hotel California”. Once again, I felt the magic of Rome—I think it hides until dusk and becomes alive at night.

I had been dying to see the Mouth of Truth the whole day, so we started our trek there. Unfortunately, when we got there, they had it locked up. I was able to see it though, and it looks every bit as amazing as it does in “Roman Holiday”. Let’s hope that those coins I put in the fountain mean I get back to Rome someday to put my hand in it. That would be amazing!

On the taxi ride home, I bid Rome farewell, thanked it for the magical evening I had on my last night there, and gaze up at the full moon above me.