BigWeather's Blog

Awoke at 7a with an upset stomach.  Managed to eat breakfast at the hotel, this time eating some yummy croissants.  We finally headed out about 10a, walking past (and showing them to Addison for the first time) Trajan’s Column, the Altare della Patria, and Trajan’s Market.  The area had a few more people than we saw during the night but it still wasn’t nearly as crowded as I imagined it would be.

We strolled down the road toward the Colosseum, stopping to take pictures and gawk at the amazing ruins in the Forum from time to time (Michelle and Addison would argue it was all the time).  Arrived at the Colosseum about 11a and found the situation to be a bit confusing.  As with the Vatican the area was crawling with people with official looking badges that offered tours that let you skip the line.  While I have no doubt that is (mostly) true, we had read it was better to go with the official English tour.  Problem was we didn’t see a way to get tickets for that without standing in the long line.  I circled the Colosseum once (and maybe taking a few pictures along the way) while Michelle and Addison sat on some fallen marble column turned bench but failed to find anyone that could help us.

Then I remembered some other advice we had read that a short walk away was the Palatine entrance to the Forum and there a combination Forum + Colosseum ticket could be purchased and Colosseum tours made.  As it was noon we decided to go for a 3p tour.

We wandered around a portion of the Forum for the next couple of hours.  It was amazing and the beautiful weather only enhanced the experience.  We first saw ruins of an aqueduct then the Severan complex complete with a stadium.  They did have some stupid “art” installation with metal words in some of the ruins (like “LOSER” in the stadium) — what the heck is that crap?  Anyhow, despite that, really cool stuff.  There was a vineyard that remained from before the ruins were set aside as a park that was very picturesque.

Heading down toward the Via Sacra we passed the Arch of Titus — very impressive with neat carvings of soldiers and the like.  Just before that there was a spring coming out of the hill in a very cool (temperature-wise) room that was well shaded — a welcome respite from the heat.  Along the Via Sacra were several temples and other ruins, and even some foundations of buildings from 9th to 7th century BC — a time when the area was under kings before the Republic had been founded.

As it was about 1:30p and we hadn’t eaten we reluctantly cut our Forum visit short and climbed to (modern) street level and went to a nearby restaurant that managed to be decent despite being a bit expensive and touristy.  We ate below the main floor and the walls were painted with Roman diners eating and drinking.  What was weird is they were almost depicted as ghosts or at least not wholly corporeal.  I had a salami and provolone panini, Michelle a club sandwich, and Addison a hamburger.

Headed to the Colosseum about 2:30 and got through the line and security check fairly quickly and waited a few minutes for our tour.  The tour guide was a very short Italian woman who spoke decent English.  As there were other groups and the distance from the guide could be a bit far she gave us all little radios to listen to her through.

The tour was interesting.  We learned several things, like eight servants would operate a lift that could lift elephants and other large animals from the holding pens below and onto the main floor.  Also, when people were defeated the spectators would shout “jugular” if they were to be finished (by a swift blow to the neck) or “mitte” (I think, was hard to understand) for mercy.  It is unknown, however, how the Emperor would indicate his final decision — the thumbs up / down is a Hollywood fiction.  Sand was used on the Colosseum floor as it could soak up the blood and be raked or swept away between events.  We also learned that competitors would be in the dark for as many as three hours before being sent to the main floor to fight and it was right there at the doorway that most died as they would be blinded by the sunlight and the gladiators that had already adjusted would mow them down.  Harsh!

The Colosseum was built by the Flavians (three emperors — a father and two sons) on some land that former Emperor Nero owned.  Thus it is more correctly the Flavian Amphitheater but Colosseum stuck.  Building it was a shrewd political move as it demonstrated the Flavians’ power, was presented as a gift to the people, and reinforced their rule (as people could see first-hand how those that broke the law would be dealt with).  The Colosseum held events about a hundred days a year and had a canvas roof that could be extended out over the entire Colosseum with a complex rope system.

We also learned that the Colosseum had free tickets with numbers on them, the numbers indicating which arch should be entered through.  Seating was segregated by class and, for the lower classes, gender, with lower class females having the highest up (worst) seats.

After the guided tour was over we visited the gift shop and walked around a bit on our own.  Pretty amazing that so much remains despite being picked over for centuries for stone (the Vatican raided it often for building material) and the occasional earthquake damaging it.  We also filled up our water bottles at one of the many public fountains on the site.

We finally headed out and back to the hotel by 5p.  Michelle in particular was getting miserable — she and Addison were pretty burnt and tired.  A man doing the “engage in friendly conversation and ask for a high-five before moving in to scam money” on Addison had to be sternly told to leave him be.  Ugh.

After a siesta until 8p Michelle and I headed out for a bit.  Addison stayed at the hotel and slept as he didn’t feel well.  Michelle and I ate at the very near Ristorante Petrucchi where we had phenomenal garlic bread and I had spaghetti alla bolognese (spaghetti with meat sauce) while Michelle had cheese pizza.  Both were great.

Then we walked through Piazza del Quirinale to Trevi Fountain, a fairly short walk from the hotel.  Despite it being very crowded (to be expected, it was a summer Saturday night and the weather was amazing) it was still really neat and relaxing.  Michelle and I sat for nearly an hour just enjoying it and saw a number of people tossing coins into the fountain by facing away from the fountain and throwing them over their shoulder as is tradition.  The fountain, having been through a recent restoration, looked amazing.  We were particularly struck by its size and the little details like carved bushes and little grottoes that really made it seem like a coast inhabited by mythical sea creatures.  Despite being a bit cliche, highly recommended!

On the way back to the room picked up a magnet and some gelato.  Yum!  Got to the room at about 11:15p and read up on Riomaggiore and blogged a bit before bed.