Rome, Italy Day 1

Well, there's no getting around it. Jeff and I are tired from all the travel but still enjoying Europe. We are trying to take it even more easy while here in Rome. There were definitely some sites that we new we had to see and others that we could pass up. We decided not to go to the museums here because we are "museum-ed out" but the history here in Rome is a must see. On our first day we went to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. They are near each other in the heart of Ancient Rome. It's so impressive just how long these structures have been standing. The Colosseum is 2000 years old. The Romans pioneered the use of concrete which allowed them to build this tremendous building. It could accommodate 50,000 fans and was topped with an enormous canvas awning that was hoisted across the top to make it the first domed stadium. Just looking at the Colosseum I can't imagine how many men it took to drag that awning over the whole stadium. The Romans loved their entertainment and planned out the building of this stadium perfectly. In the middle under the stage were rooms and tunnels that kept animals waiting to fight then they were lifted up in elevators to the stage. The animals could come out at any point of the arena behind blinds and the gladiators had no idea where they would come from or by what they were going to be attacked. Pretty incredible. Of course, knowing how much our son Wyatt loves dress up we just had to buy him a little gladiator suite! Maybe he'll be a gladiator for Halloween this year. :)










Then we went across the street to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I learned a lot here too. Palatine Hill is the hill above the Forum and it contains the remains of the imperial palaces and the foundations of Rome from huts to legendary houses. Pretty cool to imagine where the royals of Rome lived and ruled such an empire. The Roman Forum is the place where pretty much everything important in Ancient Rome happened. It's said to be the most important piece of real estate in Western Civilization. It's been a pretty cool history lesson up close and personal.







Another day of a lot of walking so we are tired. Back to the hotel for some sleep. :)