Rome, Day 2

Today was archaelogy day.  We had an early breakfast here with homemade cakes by Elisabetta, and then walked to the tram station.  After a very crowded tram ride, we got off and started walking toward the Colloseum.  Somewhere in here, Lyle asked where we were supposed to meet our guide, and I realized I didn't know.  So we stopped and checked, and luckily, it was on the way to the Colloseum, so we were fine.

We were a little bit early, so Lyle got a bottle of water, and we played one of our favorite new games, "Guess The Guide!"  We finally found him right on time at noon (the bells were literally ringing) wearing a tweed jacket and khakis and looking like a stereotypical guide.  His name was Thomas, and he's an American who's lived here for 20 years or so.  He was fantastic, and a great match for us.  We've been so fortunate with the guides we've gotten on this trip so far.

Thomas took us across the street to the Forum, and we walked through the ruins for about an hour, trying to visualize how things were, and getting some context for when and how things have been excavated.

From the Forum, we walked up Palatine Hill and got a feel for what Nero was doing, and some great views back down.

After a couple hours at the Forum and Palatine hill, it was time to meet a bigger group at the Colloseum.  I think, standing on the floor and looking up into the stands, that it's smaller than RFK, but I think it's a safe bet that RFK won't be standing in 1000 years.

We had the special tour that lets you go down to the bottom level and look at the cells where animals were kept, the passages the gladiators walked, and the elevators that transported people and animals up to the floor.

Then we went up to the top level for a view like the slaves might have had.

Having a bunch of cool pics, we got Thomas to ourselves again and headed out of the Colloseum.

The next item on our agenda was the Capitoline Museum, which houses a lot of sculptures recovered from ancient Rome.  My favorite was probably the She-Wolf famous for nursing Romulus and Remus.  (Did you know the sculptures of the twins were added later, in the Renaissance?  Neither did I.)

Other cool things were this bust of Michelangelo, done while he was still alive.

This bust of Medusa, showing her as an actual person, and giving some depth to her story (which is really one about teenage sisters squabbling, just with worse results than usual).

This sculpture of Marcus Aurelius that was never buried, and his been known and displayed since its creation.

And the so-called Dying Gaul, which was not, as is widely thought, commissioned by Julius Caesar.

By the time we were done, it was 7:30 (yeah, that's a long day), so we reluctanty said goodbye to Thomas, caught the tram back to the B&B, noted that Elisabetta had made us dinner reservations for 8, so hustled over to dinner.

They took fantastic care of us and the food was awesome.  (I had pasta, with fresh mozzarella this time, not bolognese.)  We are now back in our room watching bad American tv in English.

Tomorrow we get picked up at 8:30.  Who scheduled this madness?  Oh, wait.

Marty and Lyle