Days 1 & 2

Two days in Rome feel like much more than that, to the extent that every time you step out of the hotel to go somewhere, each venture feels like its own day.

The first day, understandably, was a bit rough. We arrived at Fiumicino shortly after 8:00, which was 2:00 at home. Slightly groggy, we found our bags and exited the airport, where we met a representative from the Italian Federation, who welcomed us and helped with our transportation to the hotel.

Our "place of residence" for the week was just north of the main part of the city and is about ten minutes away from the pool. We took a short break before lunch at noon, then rested until 15:00, when we headed to the pool for a short Sunday swim. After consulting the concierge on the best walking route to the pool, I left a little early with my teammate Julie, and we navigated the hilly and absolutely amazing path to the 'Foro Italico.'

The building that houses the original pool in the sports complex

After a swim, we had some time before dinner at 19:00, so I viciously fought sleep in an attempt to avoid jet lag, and I won! NOT. I passed out while my roommate Lindsey read, and only woke up when our teammates came knocking on the door to see if we were ready for dinner.

The second day fortunately involved much less blank staring and spontaneous sleeping.

We woke up at 7:25 for breakfast, which was (of course) delicious. Yogurt with granola, fresh fruit, blood orange juice (SO tasty), and a double espresso, just for good measure.

We left for the pool at 8:40, and when we arrived, made the circuitous trek through the indoor facility to the adjacent pool from the 1960 Olympics (shown below).

Side note about the indoor pool: it was constructed in the 1930s and is made entirely from marble. Yes, the entire surface of the pool, along with the meticulous mosaics on the walls and floors of the facility, which depict athletes competing in Olympic sports.

The indoor pool

Back to practice. We had four of 10 lanes and swam from 9-11, and though a good number of us still felt exhausted/out of sync/weird, it was still amazing to be back swimming in that pool.

The pool on our first day in Rome.

We returned to the hotel for lunch, which was a fabulous feast of fresh pasta, grilled zucchini, salad, bread, prosciutto...basically everything delicious you expect in an Italian lunch. Throw in some sparkling water, which seems more common here than flat water, and the meal is complete.

Basically immediately after lunch, we went to our rooms to change into appropriate clothing for our visit to Vatican City...

(To be continued.)