Goodbye Florence....Hello Rome

walking the streets of Rome

We found cobblestones on the streets AND on the sidewalks. My feet hurt the worst in Rome.

our lunch spot which was delicious

the dish called Roman Artichokes...delicious

The Roman Colosseum

a warm day in Rome!

there is a "partial" floor constructed to show where the "games" would have taken place

beneath the floor are the holding areas and corridors

Temple of Venus and Roma..thought to have been the largest temple in ancient Rome

the Arch of Constantine

ongoing archaeological work near the Forum

the Arch of Titus

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The Roman Forum

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The Basilica of Constantine...the largest building in the Forum

Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. It was transformed into the Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda during the Middle Ages

Remnants of the Basilica Aemilia

like putting together pieces of a puzzle is what it's like to restore ruins

House of the Vestal Virgins

statues lining the palace of the vestal virgins grounds

most of the statues had lost their heads. This one was mostly intact

Rome has public drinking water everywhere from the underground aquifer

Stadium Of Domitian on the Palatine Hill

ruins on Palatine Hill

Ancient Roman ruins of the Imperial Palace on Palatine Hill

a view of Rome from the top of Palatine Hill

Danny and I stopped to rest our legs on a bench with this beautiful view

The Colosseum in the afternoon sunlight

the BEST melting chocolate cake for dessert!

Restaurant Target

Today we came to Rome via train from Florence. Our hotel is about a half a mile from the train station and a pretty easy route with our suitcases. It was a bit of a relief to know that this was the last time we would walk with our suitcases that distance. The next time we have our suitcases behind us will be in the airport! Our rooms were not ready when we arrived, but they kept our bags at the desk and put them all in one room when the rooms were ready. Meanwhile, we set out for lunch at what turned out to be an amazing restaurant. Our hotel had given us several recommendations and this one was on the way to the Colosseum. The restaurant was Le Tavernelle and the walls were blanketed by photos of famous people from years past. The hotel said it was a great place for honest, authentic Italian food that was not in a tourist area and it didn't disappoint. We left the restaurant and went to the Colosseo (Colosseum). Considered the most stunning Roman amphitheater, it is a massive structure completed in AD80. It held up to 55,000 people when at capacity. The year it was completed, Titus organized 100 days of celebrations to mark its opening, costing the lives of 2,000 gladiators and 900 animals. The amphitheater is built with three levels of seating. Under the arena is a network of tunnels that housed machinery, cages and portable scenery. The scenery would change depending on who or what was fighting. It must have been quite a show but something I'm glad I wasn't around for. I thought the stairs that we climbed to access the upper level were difficult to climb. They slanted downward and were very steep. When we came down them, you had the sensation that you were pitched forward. Danny guessed that maybe they were pitched that way to facilitate drainage, but I think they were pitched that way to dump the people out faster. We walked under the Arch of Constantine on our way to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. The Arch was dedicated in 315 and was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. From there, we went to the Foro Romano (Forum) which is located across the street. For centuries, it was the center of Roman public life, politically, religiously and commercially. We walked under the arch of Titus on the Via Sacra. Built by Jewish slaves, the Arch was constructed in 82 AD to commemorate the victories of Titus, including the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It is the inspiration for the Triumphal Arc de Triomphe in Paris! The Forum also contained the Senate and law courts, the temples of Saturn and Vesta and the home of the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins were temple priestesses chosen from noble families by the time they were 10 years old. They made a commitment to virginity for 30 years during which time their job was to tend the Temple of Vesta and make sure the sacred flame inside never went out. If they broke their pledge to chastity, they were put in a tomb room with a piece of bread and a cup of water and buried alive. It was awesome to see the old ruins and also to see the current excavations by archeologists currently in progress. From there we moved on up to Palatine Hill. This is the hill where the emperors lived in a sprawling 150,000 square foot palace. All that remains of the palace and it's gardens and fountains are vague outlines of rooms marked by rubble walls. It was massive! Danny and I stayed behind to see more of the palace ruins while our companions left us to look for somewhere to sit a spell. Danny and I made our way back to the hotel after seeing a little more of Palatine Hill and had a wonderful dinner at Restaurant Target near the hotel. We ate next to a group of five people that were on a Rick Steve's tour. They saw me looking through my Rick Steve's book and struck up a conversation with us. They couldn't believe that we had arranged our entire trip by ourselves! After dinner Danny and I stopped at a pastry shop to pick up something for our breakfast in the morning as we all have a date with a taxi at 6:45 a.m. to take us to our meeting spot for our Vatican tour. Tomorrow we conquer the Vatican!