March 19

Rome

Today was THE day I was most looking forward to, and the highlight of the day figured to be the tour of the Roman Colosseum - which for me would also be the highlight of the trip.  And we were NOT disappointed.  Before I go into the day's many, MANY photos (and I had over 125 shots to choose from today!) a big thank you to our guide Daniella who was exceptional today.  She promised to be our guide and like a Mom to make this day in Rome our "Best day ever in Rome," and she delivered big time.  Secondly, today Sue & Dan went on a separate tour up into the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican (where they took an elevator up fourteen floors and then climbed narrow, winding steps - over 300 of them!) and got a panoramic view of Rome.  I hope to get their photos soon and load them on a separate page!

We were up today for the earliest departure of the trip, 7:45 from the pier and arrived in Rome about 1 1/2 hours later.  We parked near the Circus Maximus....

This ran daily, and was free to the Roman people, and featured two sets of chariot races in front of a capacity crowd of 250,000 - the largest stadium EVER built in the world.  Next to the course was Capitoline Hill where the emperor and his guests stayed, and as you can see they could watch from their balconies without ever leaving the comfort of the palace!

We then walked to the Colosseum.  Several myths were dispelled by our guide Daniella.  First, the entire facility (which seated 75,000) was built in just eight years.  Unbelievable - and it's still standing today!  Second, the three tiers separated the crowd by social class - AND the entire arena could be filled in thirty minutes!  The tunnels to funnel crowds into and out of the Colosseum were called vomitorium - which in Latin means quick entry and exit, and from which the modern term "vomit" is derived (fun fact!).  Also, it is a Hollywood myth about all the bloody events in the Colosseum which was for GAMES and was intended to entertain the people.  The gladiator fights and persecution of the Catholics came later in Nero's Circus, but never in the arena!

As we approached it was just amazing to see how it was such a complex that connected to the Roman forum and the temples, through the arches (see our photo at top of page).  Close up of the arch:

Note how it's fenced off around the arch - that's because the blocks between inside the arch are the ORIGINAL stones from ancient Roman times....amazing!

The height of the arena is breathtaking when you are standing at the base - bigger than you can imagine.  And to think that there was a retractable roof, a tent-like cover, that was put up on sunny days and rainy days!  We climbed two sets of stairs, of about 50 steps per set, to get to the 2nd level or the middle class level.  Here we had a panoramic view of the Colosseum.  Just stunning - ranks right up there with the other amazing things we've seen on our adventures (like the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia, Ayers Rock in Australia just to name a few!).

Note how the one end is missing part of the ring/outer wall.  This was damage caused by an earthquake.  But interestingly - note the "holes" in the walls above - this is where there were brass fittings that held the original marble on the interior and exterior walls.  Experts say that had the barbarians that invaded Rome not taken those fittings, in all likelihood the Colosseum would not have had any substantial damage!  We had our photo taken and I took shots from both the side and at the end of the arena:

I also got a close-up shot of the one section (in the lower level) of the original marble seats that still exist from ancient Roman times.  We had to take the obligatory selfie as well before leaving!  All in all we spent probably close to two hours inside the Colosseum, every moment just filled with wonder!

We returned to the bus and rode across town to begin the walking tour of Rome which covered many highlights.....

The Thermal Baths
It was amazing that the current street level was the SECOND floor of the original baths!

The Spanish Steps

Note the obelisk - brought from Ancient Egypt.....AND IT'S STILL HERE!

The Obelisk

Trevi Fountain (yes we took a selfie, but it's not posted here!)

The Pantheon Temple - the only original temple remaining that is fully complete

NOTE:  When constructing this HUGE building the Romans were smart enough to know that if they enclosed the dome on the top the weight would be too much for the walls and the entire facility would collapse, so they left it open

What about rain you say?  The Romans, so clever, knew that the warmth of the air inside would rise and force any precipitation out preventing anything but a thunderstorm from getting the floor wet.

Interior wall of the Pantheon

Also, the Romans were able to set the dome and the doors of the temple in such a way that at 1 pm on June 21st - the summer solstice - that the shadow would sunlight would "exit" through the door and beam out on the fountain which was seen as a sign that the gods were coming out of the temple to bless the city of Rome!

You tell ME how they figured that out!

We finished in Piazza Navona.  The most interesting fact about this open area, which had a huge fountain honoring the four major rivers known at the time of it's building and two smaller ones at each end is this......the Colosseum DID have at one time the ability to be flooded so that the games could be water battles between ships.  But once exotic animals were brought in and housed beneath the arena this was no longer possible so it was in this place that the naval battles were held!  This area was once another Colosseum of sorts, and as we left we could see the oblong shape and then we got a peak of the underground portion where the original ground level was.  Amazing.  We had lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant that Daniella recommended, enjoying one of THE best spaghetti dishes I've ever had, and a pizza.  Just a fantastic lunch.

Walked to the bus and drove back (only about an hour as we beat the traffic!) to the ship in time for another great dinner.  Tomorrow we arrive in Naples where Kim and I will be touring the ancient city of Pompeii which as you probably know was "frozen in time" when Mount Vesuvius erupted!

Highlights from the Roman Colosseum