Saturday, May 24
Today was a good day...a good day...but it didn't start out so great.
Knock! Knock! We wake up to this dreadful sound in the middle of the night. What the heck?! Well, it’s John. And it’s not the middle of the night. It’s almost 11:00a.m. Thank goodness he woke us up. We might have slept through our 1:30 PM Colosseum tour!!
Then John stabbed a gladiator. But...well..when in Rome...
But soon the day got better. We started heading towards the Colosseum but I purposely took a side street. Soon Jacque notices that there is a large crowd ahead. I assure her that the rumor that the Riellas have arrived must be spreading. We walk a bit more and then I tell her to turn around...and there it is...the beautiful Trevi Fountain! Watching her gasp gave me chills. Reminded me of the first time I saw this fountain in all its glory. Ah, bella Roma!
We head towards the Colosseum for our tour with Walks of Italy. Now I love to explore on my own, but this company does a fantastic job with their walking tours. Arrrrrnold, our tour guide, shared so much knowledge of the early Roman lifestyle during our three hour tour. Three hours is a long time to stay attentive, but we all agreed that we could have listened for many more hours.
So many facts were learned about the Colosseum, but here are a few of my favorites:
The name, Colosseo, doesn't refer to the size of the stadium but the size of the gigantic
statue of Nero that was next to the stadium (almost as tall as the building).
It was completed in 80 AD.
It held between 60,000 to 80,000 people with 80 entrances. Each sculpted stone ticket
stated the entrance that you were to use. So entries and exits were efficient.
All entertainment at the Colosseum was free of charge to people of all classes.
The original building was completely lined with marble. Much of the marble was later
taken off and "recycled" for the local churches.
Gladiators were typically trained prisoners. You could gain much wealth being a successful
gladiator but you couldn't be released from this contract.
After the Colosseum, the tour continued with the Forum.
After this lengthy, but thoroughly enjoyable tour we ended our day with a delicious dinner. Our hotel sent us to a nearby restaurant that was out of this world!! It was a very good sign that we were the only ones speaking English in the building. It was a very memorable dinner at the end of a very memorable day.
At the conclusion of the meal John pushes away from the table, crosses his arm over his chest, gets his charming and silly grin on his face (have you pictured this?) and announces, "It was a good day...a good day!" And so it was!
But what's going on next to us? It's a very large group celebrating some special event. Jacque assumes it must be a first communion celebration of the young gent in the jacket and tie. (side note to my kids... it really was Jacque and not me that came up with this story.) Jacque wants to check out her assumption and asks the busboy. Ah yes! Right on the mark! He congratulates us for our great skills of deduction by offering us complimentary tiramisu and limoncello. Go Jacque!!
The young gent stands and gives a speech. We're sure he must be acknowledging the well dressed Americans at the table next to theirs, so we politely applaud. This brings on recognition by the young gent's family which includes them pouring us some wine. Which, of course, leads to John getting up to meet the family.
The name, Colosseo, doesn't refer to the size of the stadium but the size of the gigantic
statue of Nero that was next to the stadium (almost as tall as the building).
It was completed in 80 AD.
It held between 60,000 to 80,000 people with 80 entrances. Each sculpted stone ticket
stated the entrance that you were to use. So entries and exits were efficient.
All entertainment at the Colosseum was free of charge to people of all classes.
The original building was completely lined with marble. Much of the marble was later
taken off and "recycled" for the local churches.
Gladiators were typically trained prisoners. You could gain much wealth being a successful
gladiator but you couldn't be released from this contract.
After the Colosseum, the tour continued with the Forum.
(of course this picture is out of focus...I took it!)
After this lengthy, but thoroughly enjoyable tour we ended our day with a delicious dinner. Our hotel sent us to a nearby restaurant that was out of this world!! It was a very good sign that we were the only ones speaking English in the building. It was a very memorable dinner at the end of a very memorable day.
At the conclusion of the meal John pushes away from the table, crosses his arm over his chest, gets his charming and silly grin on his face (have you pictured this?) and announces, "It was a good day...a good day!" And so it was!
But what's going on next to us? It's a very large group celebrating some special event. Jacque assumes it must be a first communion celebration of the young gent in the jacket and tie. (side note to my kids... it really was Jacque and not me that came up with this story.) Jacque wants to check out her assumption and asks the busboy. Ah yes! Right on the mark! He congratulates us for our great skills of deduction by offering us complimentary tiramisu and limoncello. Go Jacque!!
The young gent stands and gives a speech. We're sure he must be acknowledging the well dressed Americans at the table next to theirs, so we politely applaud. This brings on recognition by the young gent's family which includes them pouring us some wine. Which, of course, leads to John getting up to meet the family.
After dinner we head to the Trevi Fountain once again to see it lit up. We toss our coins into the fountain to assure us another visit. (Well...it's worked for me in the past!)
Yes, John, it was a good day...a good day! Amazing archeological sights, amazing architecture, amazing food, and best of all...getting to enjoy it all with amazing friends!!
And as I laid my head on my pillow, I paused to give thanks. "Grazie, God, for a very good day...a molto buona day!"
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