Rome Day 2

Even though this was our second day in Rome, it was our first true day of scouring the city. With a map in our hands we began the task of looking for the Roman Colosseum. When Kent initially wanted to go to Italy I was not terribly interested in going to Rome. I have never followed the history of the Roman empire so to be honest, I was not sure what the draw was. Within minutes of walking the city I became blatantly aware of how awesome it really is.

Kent and I left our hotel and started towards the Colosseum. After a couple of minutes of walking we stumbled on a beautiful square and this amazing building. Like seriously, smack, you are walking around a corner and these crazy buildings that are centuries (centuries!) old are amongst newer and updated buildings.

Here is a photo of the building that was unknown to us for the first day, then we realized it was the Pantheon. A now present church (since the 7th century AD) that was built in 126AD. I mean seriously, think about that!

My two favorite parts about this church are the incredible doors, their thickness and height and the way it's lighting happens inside. Their is an opening in the ceiling that is the only source of light, other than candles, and it is not a window, but a true hole. This dome was amazing and is still considered a true marvel, particularly when you think about the time it was constructed. I wish the photos I took would do it justice, but again, that seemed to be a constant problem. Everything was so beautiful and on such a grand scale that photography was limited.

Here is one other photo that shows the light as it moves across the church based on the sunshine.

After discovering this gem we kept our maps at bay and made our way to the Colosseum. As we were walking, and getting confused, I kept thinking, "wow, this place is amazing." I loved the streets, the flowers hanging from window boxes, the smell of delicious food and never really knowing what is around the next bend. We saw so many cool fountains and architecture (I did take over 600 photos). As we were crossing this insanely busy intersection, which is more difficult than it sounds, I caught a glimpse of what we were en route to.

It was so exciting to get closer and closer to as the crowds were swarming and after discovering the Pantheon, I couldn't wait to get here. This place was awesome. I loved walking around inside and seeing the holes in the walls from canyon balls! The Colosseum is still in decent shape for being constructed in 80AD. At its peak it could hold 50,000 spectators. Some things were gruesome to learn, but this a different time, where executions were public and a man being eaten by a tiger was a spectator sport.

There was so much history to be understood, it was overwhelming. Kent and I did our best to get a feel for everything, but truth be told, we wouldn't win a Jeopardy category on the history of the Roman empire. Learning and understanding for me is not necessarily about route memorization and a list of dates. What was so beautiful about this part of Rome was the fact that there were thousands of people from all over the world here to experience the same part of history. The guidebooks that were being sold in 15 different languages was fascinating to me. It was a true highlight for me.
Within the area around the Colosseum is Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. These three attractions could easily take a serious history buff a good 3 days to take in. The entire roman empire was operated out of the Roman Forum and the extensive historical places and events is too much to discuss in this little part of my blog. Here are a few beautiful photos though.




This was a great day for Kent and I. After this much sight seeing we had a very late lunch and a nap. I'm not much of a napper, but wow, we took advantage of a little R&R in the afternoons. We went out later that evening and had another yummy meal. We both knew that this was going to be a tough trip for our waistlines. In fact, I started to notice that we looked different in our photos as the trip progressed...we were getting puffier! It was totally worth it though.