all roads lead to rome.

for a history geek, rome is a dream. so you can imagine how much i loved it!

the sense of history in the city is what hit me the most. as i stared at the colosseum, it was difficult to even comprehend the amount of people that had stood there before me. thousands of people for centuries have been living and dying in rome, and i have only been alive for 23 years. there is no feeling like that to make you realize your problems are not so large in the grand scheme of the world. canada is so young in comparison. rome was founded in 753 BC! i am a believer that studying history is an extremely important discipline. but studying it from textbooks is simply not enough. reading about the various emperors of rome does not even compare to the richness of seeing it in person. in two years, the students will have forgotten when caesar was assassinated, but they will never forget the feeling of seeing the colosseum for the first time. each crack, stone and column has experienced more of the world than any of us ever will.

needless to say, i loved every minute i spent in the city. everywhere that i stepped, history was screaming out to me. images were continually coming alive in my head of people before me. as i walked through the roman forum, i could envision people in roman times doing the same. rather than rushing through the city, which i could have done, i took the time to soak it all in. i would take a few steps, and just sit and stare, completely content that i was going to miss many of the things that i had always wanted to see.

i think having an appreciation for history, also makes you okay with not 'doing' a city. it is humanly impossible to see all of rome, but isn't that the point of travelling? by soaking up the atmosphere, the culture and the people, i experienced rome for a few days... but it will still be there tomorrow. young people often have a perception that they need to see it all - i have certainly been guilty of this myself. but life is long, and rome and all its ruins and magic will still be alive five, ten, even twenty years from now, and will be ready for another visit from me.

i mean, i missed the sistine chapel! i just ran out of time. who goes to rome and doesn't go to the sistine chapel? me, i guess. but it doesn't even bother me. i know that the three days i spent in rome are only the beginning of a lifelong romance that i plan on having with the city.