Rome, the Colosseum, the Forum

Today we took the bus to the Colosseum, which is packed with schoolchildren tours and foreign tourists.  The Colosseum is impressive, and it is incredible not only that the Romans constructed such a huge building, but also that so much of it is still standing and functioning today.  I told gladiator stories to the children while they sat on the ground taking a break and eating oranges, it was enjoyable.  We sat in the shade and ate panini sandwiches on the base of what used to be the Colossus statue.  Above Julia is pictured with Nathan in the Forum with ruins of a temple behind them.  The ruins and the history give one much to ponder.

Grampa continues to be astounded by the number of photographs we take in our group.  I believe we have about ten picture taking devices among us, and we are well into the hundreds of images.  Behind Grandma Anita, Grampa Bill and Lily is the Colosseum.  The outside of the Colosseum is filled with vendors, gladiators that will demand money if you take a picture of them and all manner of people trying to get you to hire them or give them money.  The kids all know how to avoid eye contact and to say 'No grazzie' firmly.

Mariela looking over the grounds of the Forum.  If you like ancient history, this is the place for you.  The city has just too much to see, which is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.  Mariela said she could have sat all day in the Colosseum just looking at the architecture, listening to lectures and watching the people.  There are running faucets around the city where people fill their water bottles and drink.  One faucet in the Forum was interesting, it had a hole on the top of it so if you covered the spigot with your hand, the water spit out of the hole in a gentle arc like a drinking fountain. 

This is the interior of the Pantheon, which is a building too amazing for a short description.  It is over 2,000 years old, and the roof and plumbing built by the Romans still works.  There is a deep spiritual presence in the space, and it is still an active Catholic Church.  The site is free to visit, and it was filled with people from all over the world.  There is a 30 foot wide oculus in the roof that lets in natural light and rainwater, and the artist Raphael (painter of the School of Athens) is buried there as well as two Italian kings.

A 360 shot of the Roman Forum with Lucia and Julia walking down the Via Sacra.  We saw the Temple of Julius Caesar where he was assassinated and the Arch of Titus, the general that conquered Israel, destroyed the second temple and started the nearly 2,000 year old Jewish diaspora.  Lily used her Latin skills to translate some of the inscriptions on the buildings, but it's not easy to do.

Tomorrow morning we go to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Square.

Ciao Ciao