Rome

The Colosseum has to be the most iconic site in Rome.  It is what people initially think about when they think of Rome, at least that's the case for me.  So it was so cool to be able to actually see the Colosseum, live and in person.  I know Melissa was just as excited as I was.

It really was an amazing sight.  To me, it was incredible that it was still standing.  It was built around 290 AD.  What workmanship.  We then got our tickets and went inside. 

Walking out into the interior of the Colosseum for the first time was pretty awe inspiring.  Not just because you were there seeing this incredible antiquity, but for the thoughts that went through my mind of the spectacles that were performed here.  The many deaths that happened all for the entertainment of the masses.  Incredible.

The planning and engineering in here were amazing. You can see that there are walkways and hallways all around down there.

This was all underneath the floor of the arena.  This is where the gladiators and the animals were kept and moved around.  There were about 60 trap doors in the floor where lions and other predators would be lifted up on elevators and then they would pop out of these trap doors to fight the gladiators.  So, the gladiators would be fighting the animals, most likely getting killed, while the Romans would watch and cheer.  Sad really.

After spending some time in the Colosseum, we then walked over to the forum.  This was the Roman equivalent of downtown, with offices and shopping.

After the Colosseum and the Forum, it was time to do some other sight seeing.  We had a chance to walk around Rome and see some of the back streets and less "touristy" spots.

We then ended up at the famous Trevi Fountain.  Beautiful.

Melissa wanted to throw a coin in the fountain. Actually, as the tradition goes, you throw one coin in if you want to find love, two if you want to get married, and three if you want a divorce.  Melissa threw in two!

After some time at the fountain, it was time to see what Rome was like at night.  One of the first places our guide took us was to a local shopping mall.  It was a lot like what you would expect in the states.  However, there was a terrific crowd there and lots of noise.  It took us some time to figure out what was happening.  It turns out that someone was there for the debut of their new movie.  Maybe you can recognize him in this picture.

Melissa was very excited to see Will Smith and tried to get close enough to get an autograph, but the crowd was just too big.  It was an exciting surprise, though.

We then traveled around and saw some of the other Roman sights, like the Pantheon. 

The Pantheon is an old Pagan temple that was converted to a Christian church after Constantine.  It was a very impressive architectural piece.  The dome has a 25 foot hole in the top.  The interesting thing is that it never gets wet inside.  When it rains, the water that comes through the hole evaporates before it gets to the floor.  Interesting.

After the Pantheon, we did a little more shopping and saw some more of the incredible art that just seems to be laying around Rome.

And that was our two days in Rome.  In my next post I'll discuss our next day, which included the famous tower in Pisa.