For my summer vacation, I got to choose where to go to on a trip in Europe. It was between Rome and Greece because I wanted to see the old temples of the Greek gods, but I settled on Rome because it has a Colosseum and cool sculptures to see. It also is home to my favourite foods, pizza and pasta. And of course gelato!

My mom and I arrived in Rome after a six-hour flight delay in Bristol, England. We were tired and stressed because we felt like we had lost time for exploring, but when we arrived at our hotel, the Queen Suites near the Piazza Venezia, right in the centre of everything we wanted to walk to, our helpful concierge presented us with a tray of wonderful snacks – sliced hot dogs, jumbo olives and bright red bitter sodas. On the bed, I found a toy sword and a story about where the gladiators come from. They knew we had come on a mission: I was going to train at gladiator school.