Again A Hearty Greeting From Rome -
It is absolutely amazing to see what the Romans accomplished during the reign of the Roman Empire from 500 BC to 500 AD. If the Roman Empire existed only around Rome it would be amazing, but to realize the geographical extent of the Empire is hard to digest. And, to figure the Barbarians dismantled this grandeur and refinement and turned things into disarray and a dark period that lasted another 1,000 years is equally difficult to grasp. Then, to remember what Hitler and Mussolini managed to do so recently, it makes you realize that a civilization/society so young as our civilization may be right at the edge of a cliff. What? It doesn’t pay to think too much. That’s probably correct.
Back to a few more photos from our Monday at the Coliseum and Forum. There’s a general photo of the outside of the Coliseum. The Coliseum was built in 80 AD, when the Roman Empire was at its zenith. In a 90-day period, 2,000 gladiators and 9,000 animals would be killed in the “games”, witnessed by as many as 50,000 folks at one time. There’s a photo from above of the Forum, the center of Roman life. Deep inside the Coliseum were cages where the animals and gladiators were kept, and a photo shows one such cage. Generally, the gladiators were slaves. Inside the Coliseum photo you can look to the right and see a new floor, installed to give an idea of what it was like when there was a wood floor in the coliseum, sitting above halls filled with animals and gladiators. And, there’s another photo of the inside of the Coliseum. There’s also a photo of Marlene and Keaka outside the Coliseum and another shot of the nearby Trajan’s Forum. By the way, Trajan ruled AD 98 – 117, when the empire stretched from England to the Sahara and from Spain to the Fertile Crescent.
We’re getting caught up in the old part of Rome and all of the history. So, we need to get out with the real folks. Unfortunately, the nearby tram has a very short route, while the only two metro lines do not run close to where we are staying. But, it’s a goal to get on the metro and get off out where the tourists do not tread. Maybe that will happen on Wednesday.
Of course, as we travel, life goes on. Marz has a rash over too much of her upper body. She thinks she got it from recently eating a type of mushroom that she had never eaten previously. We went to a nearby pharmacy today and got her a cream and some cortisone pills. All for less than $10 US. Something is wrong with our U.S. system. Sophia’s cold is hanging in there, but she has pretty good energy. Now, Keaka has gotten a cold, so we just hope it doesn’t get caught in his chest, which is a real problem for him.
Vatican CIty is next.
The Wilsons
