Rome Forum and Colosseum

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• published: 01 Oct 2013
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9/17 Tuesday A day with Steve and Laurie in Rome! We take a bus into the city, enjoying a scenic tour through the streets. Their hotel is near the Spanish Steps, so it's easy to find. Steve has spent several years living in Rome during medical school, so he's on his home turf. After hugging and chatting a little, we're off on a tour of the sites. What a treat! All the sights, no thinking required. Steve trots through the streets, leading us along with his knowledgeable commentary. We walk across some charming piazzas and soon arrive at the Pantheon. After 2000 years, this is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome and one of the most influential buildings in architectural design. The space is still reverberating with the reverence of its original intention as a temple. We learn that Raphael's tomb is here, and several other notable artists and poets. Of course, all the tourists enjoy the open oculus at the top of the dome. We make our way through the sea of tourists in the streets, past the grand monument to self-indulgence of the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanual II. It looks rather like the Parliament in Vienna. After a light lunch in a little bistro, we make our way to the Roman Forum. The grounds of the excavation site are enormous. It takes a little maneuvering to figure out how to enter. We get our tickets, including the Coliseum, and our audio guides, and wander through the ancient columns and monuments. Bob would like to see the whole site reconstructed to show it as it would have been in all its glory. Entering the Coliseum is much like going to a Giants game, following the crowd along the exterior corridors to the staircases that bring you to the stands. The stadium would have held as many as 55,000 spectators back in 80 AD. The ruined state of today exposes the lower levels and passages, giving us some idea of the complex maneuverings that would have gone on when events were held. We all take our time walking along the upper level, looking over the site, milling around, imagining the gladiators, prisoners and wild beasts. I think the Giants would have been the prisoners in that match-up. We have had our fill of Roman ruins now, so we make our way back towards the hotel, through some side streets and smaller avenues, all filled with the charm of Rome. Steve cleverly brings us around to the famous Trevi Fountain, with the entire piazza swarming with tourists, of course. Bob wants to throw in a coin. I don't see how that can happen, but we actually do manage to work through the crowd to sit on the fountain rim. It's a lovely sight as the light is changing to a dusky evening, everything has a bluish glow from the water and the marble. We don't even notice the tourists around us. Steve and Laurie's hotel has a wonderful rooftop terrace that, strangely, no one else uses. We relax with a cocktail and look over the tile roofs and bell towers and domes, picking out St. Peter's and its cupola. We walk just down the street to a little bar for a round of Negronis, then to a very authentic Roma restaurante. The waiter clearly enjoys Steve's competent Italian, taking some refuge in waiting on us. We can hear a raucous chorus of "That's Amore" coming from the room adjoining ours, and can only imagine what's going on there. We have an easy time getting to our metro stop, having had such a fun day, topped off with the treat of an evening out. Steve is crazy for Italy, and his passion is infectious and delightful. For more video and travel tales, follow our blog at http://bpeurope2013.blogspot.com/.