Barcelona is hot. Certainly, there are places that are hotter, but there is a reason that I live as far north as I do. Our room had a giant door which takes up most of the rear facing wall. In order to keep ourselves cool, we left that door open.

At 3:30 in the morning, I woke up from a combination of terribly annoying sea birds and itches from what must be mosquitos. I went to grab a glass of water from the kitchen, but felt wide awake. Accidentally slamming the door, I woke Jessie. We both had our various methods of getting back to sleep. Mine was to read, hers was to answer work e-mails.

We awoke in the morning from the alarm, packed and left for the airport. There was a plan to go visit Park Güell early in the morning, but our lack rest made the choice to skip it an easy one.

Our flight from Barcelona to Rome was easy, and brought us into town in the evening. The bus from the airport primed us for the marvels we were about to see. Ruined walls and old churches were everywhere! You could see traces of an aqueduct following the road up the the termini.

Arriving in town, we met with our gracious AirBnB host, who showed us our spacious room, offered us a bottle of water, and listed places to go. We made our way towards the Colosseum, stopping for dinner at Luzzi.

Surprisingly, the area was not overrun by tourists. We were able to walk around and enjoy the blue skies, fresh air, and ancient ruins. Most places were closed off, requiring tickets that we didn’t have, so we were limited to just the exterior, but the little that we did see was transcendental in its own right. Two thousand years is almost unfathomable, but you can see the passage of time shaken into the foundation of these antique buildings, and share the same sense of awe that an ancient Roman felt in their presence.

-Ray