When in Rome...

Today we went to the Colosseum. We once again just slept till we woke up (which was 10 for me), and then got ready and got out. I didn't even bother showering this morning since I knew I'd be drenched with sweat 10 minutes after leaving (gross, I know, sorry). We took a bus over to the Colosseum area and saw lots of other stuff too!

The Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. We didn't know who he was until we googled it when we got back. He was the first King of Italy. And I guess the monument itself is controversial because it destroyed some of the medieval neighborhoods when it was built and is considered pompous and too large. It is pretty big. So big that I didn't believe Doug when he said it was a monument. I thought it was a museum!

Some ruins...sign was in Italian though...

Doug with one of the Caesars

We had so many people trying to sell us stuff. We were looking for fedora hats to help with the sun (we were lathered in sunscreen though!), but we were having a hard time finding one that Doug liked and that fit. All the ones he liked were too small and the one that fit the color wasn't what he was looking for (black). One guy got really mad because we had started bartering when we decided we didn't really want it. He called us stupid, but oh well.

The Colosseum! It was kind of weird being there. Especially when you realize that almost everything looked different than what it originally did. On the audio guide they'd describe something and then say, "It isn't there anymore." Or the bleacher like section that had been reconstructed in the 30s wasn't accurate. And then also knowing all of the suffering and violence that occurred there, for entertainment. They described one battle where they had 11,000 men fighting each other to recreate a battle scene. Or releasing 50 bears to fight. Once again we see that we've always been obsessed with violence, it isn't some new phenomenon being brought on by videogames (not that violent videogames are ok or normal though).

We got in line for the Colosseum. There were people all over the front trying to sell tours on the basis of a guided tour with no line. The line didn't seem that long, and after our line for the Eiffel Tower, any line is okay with us. The people selling the tours were charging twice the amount for the entrance, so we said forget it. We stood in line for about 40 minutes or so, and then also got audio guides for only a little more money. Doug actually yelled at a woman and her daughter when they tried to cut in front of us and then acted like they didn't understand why people were mad.

We also found out why it looks like half of the high walls are just missing. It's cause when the Colosseum was no longer used for games and such (I think the last games were in 528?), it became rather deserted, and then was used for building supplies. Some of it was even used to build St. Peter's Basilica! Earthquakes also damaged it too though, but I don't think as much as people just taking the marble and bricks away

The monument to the martyrs that lost their lives in the arena

This really shows the difference in height between the two sides of the Colosseum and how much was taken. Also on the far side you can see where they reconstructed part of the arena floor

Arch of Constantine's which we could see well from the Colosseum

Looks like the ruins of a church

The original stairs up to the upper levels

You can't see it in this picture at all, but on the back of the marble were the senator's names, marking their seats. Each time a senator was replaced, the new senator's name was carved on the seat

It was really really hot today. We finished our water pretty quickly and got some Gatorades to help replenish electrolytes. We also had salami panini for breakfast/lunch. They were good, but expensive. They were the only option really though since everything is closed.

We walked through the Roman ruins where the Roman forum was. All of the signs were in Italian and we didn't spring for the audio guides, so we didn't really know what anything was, but it's hard to tell what stuff is anyways.

The Arc of Titus

Arena where the gladiators would train

We eventually got overheated and tired so we decided to go back to our hotel. We reminded ourselves that we had plenty of time to see more of Rome over the next several days. But we did get gelato before going back :) Doug got strawberry sorbet and I got chocolate chip. I think I decided that I like our ice cream better. It's creamier. So I'm gonna try the more fruity stuff next time.

We came back and hit the pool to cool off. The water was one degree warmer today (which is really more than one degree in celsius) so it was more refreshing today. Then we laid in the late afternoon sun which felt good rather than burning. When the sun went behind some clouds we decided we were ready to go. We cleaned up, threw a load of laundry in, and went to McDonalds for dinner. Now we're gonna watch Harry Potter and be thankful that we have air conditioning and clean shorts to wear over the next couple of days!