“It’s so surreal!”
That phrase seemed to be the motto for the second day in Rome.
Standing in the Colosseum, the place that we’d heard about for our entire lives and especially through Humanities at Sewanee, imagining the seats lined with thousands of Roman citizens, we simply couldn’t believe that we were IN THE COLOSSEUM!!!
I’m really glad that we chose the half-hour guided tour and combination ticket to the Forum. The coolest part, to me, about the tour was being taken onto a platform hanging out over the ‘underground’ portion of the colosseum. In ancient times we would have been standing on the ground of the colosseum, over the tunnels where the animals were kept. Thanks to the wooden platform we could look down into the tunnels as well as up into the stands, thus really getting a feel for what it would have been like as a gladiator. We could have spent much more time just admiring the views of Rome through the arches. We could have sat baking in the Roman sunshine or making our way around and around and around again. Unfortunately, we allowed ourselves a little over an hour and then dragged ourselves to the exit at a very leisurely pace.
Outside the colosseum, I just HAD to get pictures with the gladiators. I knew they’d charge for them (I’m bad at bargaining, and ended up paying more than I liked). I was also a bit disappointed that they weren’t fiercer and didn’t look menacing in our photos. All in all though I really like the pictures - with the triumphal arch in the background there’s no doubt I am in Rome, being uber-touristy at the colosseum.
We’re not going to discuss the pizza bread type lunch from a snack stand outside the colosseum – all there is to say is that it’s better to starve…
The Forum was not as I imagined it. I imagined something more like the Acropolis in Greece and what I got was a hike on a plateau and a whole lot of ruins. Not that it wasn’t impressive, because it was, but the concept in my head was more ambitious that the actual result. I think if I go back to Rome I will look up some of the history of the Roman Palatin (the plateau/hill on which the forum sits) so that I can better appreciate the various temples and houses we came across. Interestingly, Rome has orange trees and palm trees, which surprised Martha and I. The two types of trees in particular made the palatin and forum more oasis-like. Adding to atmosphere was the sound of multiple little fountains dotted about. We were happy to be able to fill up our nalgenes regularly. I feel like I’m not doing justice to the historic site – it was a fantastic couple of hours we spent exploring the ruins, truly!
From there we caught a bus to the Callisto catacombs. Just like France, apparently Italy holds the idea that bus times are a suggestion and not a strict guideline – I think we waited almost 45 minutes for the bus. Touring the catacombs was interesting although half the time I couldn’t understand our guide who seemed to be talking at 90 mph. Maybe I was just fatigued from the full morning. I would like to do other catacombs if I get back to Rome, and walk to Appian Way as well. When our bus was driving down the Appian Way, the oldest remaining road in Rome, the walls on either side of the road were within a foot on either side of our bus. The driver amazed me with his skill in not hitting bikers, walkers, and somehow managing not to rub the bus against the walls.
By then, just like the day before, it was too early for dinner, but Martha and I were hungry. So, we picked a gelato place around the Capitol near the Forum and headed there as night fell. We’d already stopped by the Colosseum once more on my behalf since I desperately wanted sunset pictures of the huge, arched, monument. The gelato was found and enjoyed as we slowly picked our way through the streets toward our dinner place.
Dinner was yummy: a meat platter, a cheese board, some bread and wine. What the food lacked in portion the restaurant made up for in atmosphere. The Montecarlo was a nice little restaurant with wooden booths and dark wooden beams throughout. The walls were adorned with photography and paintings (all for sale at outrageous prices). The thing that fascinated my easily entertained self was the wine storage. The wines weren’t stored in a cave or some cabinet; no, they were perched on the tops of the wooden beams throughout the room! After we ordered our bottle for dinner, the waitress reached up with a hooked stick, grabbed a bottle from the top of the beam and brought it down for us. Besides the beams (which made me feel a bit like I was in a forest) being decorative, they also served a purpose. After a simple, very simple as you can see, Italian dinner, it was back to the hostel for bed.
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