Greetings Again From Rome:
It came up a beautiful day (Monday) and we were off to the Coliseum and Forum. We were able to take the tram to within walking distance of the tour company office, so that was good. Our tour had been transferred from one tour company to another, so there was confusion. Our 11:30 am tour ended up being a 1:00 pm tour that ended up being a 1:30 pm tour. When we finally got going we liked the tour.
Lots and lots of people around the area that was the heart of Rome during the days of the Roman Empire. Some suggested it was the busiest day of the year, I would measure the people in the hundreds of thousands. The key to purchasing the prearranged tour is you bypass the lines to purchase tickets for a venue and the lines to enter the venue. The line at the Coliseum was running 2-1/2 hours, so when we walked right in with our group we didn’t really care how much it cost, though the entire three hours of guided tour cost us 100 euros for the four of us, which included the tickets to the venues.
We didn’t have a real good idea about what all was here to see, other than we expected the Coliseum to look like a really large Roman Coliseum, which it is. After the tour we still have only a general idea of things at best, and even to portray that in this setting is far too difficult. Suffice it to say, there’s plenty to look up.
We were inside the Coliseum, which was self explanatory. A four level venue, which until 20 years ago was wide open to anyone and folks were still taking items from this historical treasure. The Forum was the political, religious, and commercial center of the city and adjacent to the Coliseum. Also adjacent is Palatine Hill, which was the site of the emperor’s palace which was bigger than huge. Looking at all that is there takes some imagination. Most buildings had marble surfaces. Not today. Over the years the fancy materials were stripped away and used on other buildings in Rome, as folks over the years did not see the significance of this area. And, of course, there have been fires and earthquakes.
Moving to the photos, I regress to show you an example of a Rome gas station, located on a curb adjacent to a parking lane of a major street. This gas station was a long block away from the Coliseum. There’s a photo of the outside of the Coliseum. There’s a photo of what remains of a Roman stadium, likely used for running events. Located on Palantine Hill, the emperor could look into the stadium from the bedroom window in his palace. There’s a shot looking down into the ruins of the Forum. There were many, many temples, each for a different God, as the Romans believed in many Gods until Constantine brought Christianity, at which time crosses were placed atop these temples and they became basilicas. There’s a photo of Sophia and Keaka outside the Coliseum. There’s also a photo of general ruins, still in this fairly large area that was the center of Rome. These are the ruins of Trajan’s Forum. Trajan was the ruler at one time.
Marlene and I went to dinner tonight at one of the highly recommended pizza restaurants. So, you see a photo of the top of the pizza box from Da Poeta. It was a treat. Great atmosphere, jammed and located on a very narrow street that you would not even enter if you came upon it in the United States. The scouting report said to have brochetta, which was fabulous. And, the pizza was superb. The pizza was highlighted by the crust. I had read it was a great combination of crunchy and chewy, which is a right on description. So, yes, we did find some top-notch pizza in Europe.
More about today coming up, and then on to Vatican City tomorrow.
The Wilsons
