Be patient ... Rome wasn't burnt in a day.

When I plan trips, I tend to do a fair amount of research about what I'll see so I can better enjoy the sites. In regards to Rome and today's visit of the Colosseum, that meant watching Gladiator at least twice. The line to the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) is supposedly one of the longest in Rome, however a great hit from the pocket guidebook that a family member gave me for Christmas was to get a 'Roma Pass' at the tabacchi booth at the metro station that allowed me to fly through the ticket queue. I got the one that included a full day of metro and bus use even though today's sites were all reached by walking, though I kept it until I got back to Rome a week later to check out some of the sites on the outskirts.

The Flavian Amphitheater is a grand structure, however it has seen some better times. It is still indeed quite impressive and took quite a while to circle the place on multiple levels. Though I didn't make it to Greece, from what I understand the ruins in Rome are similar, except that some of them are still standing. I took some time to wander various displays, however the most part was spent overlooking the interior and imagining the spectacles witnessed here. Some estimates indicate that over 500,000 people and over 1,000,000 animals were killed here for sport and show. I probably stood at various places just completely the structure in my mind's eye for quite a while and learned a bit more by listening in on various tours as they went by. While it did feel authentic inside, even with the decay, just outside the gates it was very different. There were a lot of 'gladiator copy' actors standing around calling people over for pictures, for which they would charge handsomely. They were not at all the epitome of the idea of a gladiator with most simply wearing plastic armor and helmets and seemed to be reluctant to get off the cell phone and put out the cigarette whenever they had to pose and were very pushy, but some people seemed to enjoy the attempt at a posed photo, so I'm glad they were able to get that kind of memento. I wandered around for a little bit and hit a couple of geocaches (including one at the site of the earliest known cartoon in history) before having a quick lunch with a glass of wine that was nearly in the shadow of the grand structure.

After finishing, I headed over the the Roman Forum. While I loved the architecture of Rome and all the various churches and sites, this place held the most allure historically for me. It was pretty much the central point of the empire and was of great importance to everyday life with its proximity to the Senate, Emperor's residence, Circus Maximus, and Flavian Amphitheater. With the help of the guide book and especially the audio guide, I really enjoyed walking through and imagining how life would have been over 2000 years ago. Even with just portions of a structure remaining and often mere stones scattered around, I was wholly impressed by the grandeur of this place, essentially the economic, judicial, and executive hub of the empire. I was especially taken aback by the remains of the Basilica of Constantine. Only a part of an alcove still remains, and even that was immense. I've never really studies engineering, but even with my rudimentary modern knowledge I can barely fathom how these structures were built. I suppose that access to tens of thousands of slaves from conquered lands can be an aid to creating anything. The site of Caesar's funeral pyre (though he was killed elsewhere in Rome) had fresh flowers and a somber atmosphere.

After finishing the forum I headed up Capitol Hill to take in the views and walk through one of the Italian history museums. After that I headed to the Circus Maximus that, though once the most grand of race tracks, is barely recognizable even by topography. The track is well worn from daily use by joggers and football players, but nothing of the structure really remains. I headed over to Palentine Hill to few the ruins of the emperor's residence and wandered the gardens for a while. I especially liked the overview of the Roman Forum and could readily imagine how it would have looked if the structures were still there today (though probably made easier with the use of CGI in movies such as Gladiator).

After another hour or so hear I just wandered the city a bit without any particular destination. I found my way at the Tiber River and crossed over it next to the last remaining arch of the Pons Aemilius, the first stone bridge in Rome. I wandered over to the Tiber Island down to the water level to enjoy the passing water. As I walked beneath one of the bridges I thought to check my GPS and was glad to see a geocache less than a hundred feet away, which I found and snagged a couple of travel bugs as well. I walked through the Jewish Grotto for a bit as it got dark. I finally made my way back to the Colosseum to enjoy another gelato and take some night shots which seemed to have come out decently well. It was nice to sit on the nearby pedestrian bridge and simply think for a while and enjoy the cool ambiance of an historical existence among modern life.

Circus Maximus

Domitian Stadium on Palentine Hill

Tiber Island

Arch of Titus

Arch of Septimius Severus

Place where body of Caesar was burned

Temple of Antoninus & Faustina

Basilica de Maxentius

Arch of Constantine

Is a Caesarean Section a neighborhood or district in Rome?

After leaving my second visited country of the day (since The Holy See is an independent nation), I headed back to the metro to the Spagna stop where I would check out the Spanish Steps. Any travel show that mentions Rome visits this site and that of the Trevi Fountain (my next stop). It seems to be a requirement to simply sit here for a short while with a bit of Gelato (Italian ice cream that is a good bit more rich than the American counterpart) and watch the world go by. The name, Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, was derived since the steps (the widest and longest in all of Europe) are located next to the Spanish embassy to The Holy See, even though they were built with French funds. Since it was relatively late, it wasn't overly crowded, so I was able to enjoy a first chance of the day to really sit down and not have to stare at anything.

My final destination of the day was the Trevi Fountain, another incredibly popular tourist site. since it was a smaller piazza, it was a bit more crowded here. since there are no roads that go by, and since it is surrounded by narrow streets, one almost stumbles upon this grand display of water, marble, and stone. Tradition apparently holds that visitors can assure their return to Rome by tossing a coin over their shoulder into the water. It seems to be such a popular thing that I heard an estimated 3,000 euros is collected from the site each night. I sat here for quite a while contemplating a lot of things as there has been quite a bit weighing on my mind recently, so the sound of water drowning (pun intended) out the noises of the crowd was soothing. I've never been too superstitious, but I actually decided to not throw in a coin since I figured I might never want to visit Rome again after this trip (even though I planned to be back in another 9 days before flying out), but we'll see.

One thing though learned on this first day, 'when in Rome'... no seriously, 'do as the Romans do'; especially when involved in pedestrian vs small/large vehicles conflicts of personal space. Sidewalks are narrow and can sometimes completely disappear. If you ever need to cross a street, don't wait for the uncaring light to tell you it's safe, team up with an elderly Italian woman or a person pushing a stroller. It sounds a bit bad, but if you want to survive side with a team that won't lose, no one is going to feel good about running over an old lady, and strollers are practically bullet proof when it comes to cars, then blend in.

Vatican Express - Don't leave Rome without it!

I started the trip with fortunate timing in that the flight to Rome was scheduled to land around 8 o'clock in the morning. In order to more quickly adjust to local time, I had stayed up the previous 24 hours before leaving Tampa and kept awake all through the domestic portion of the trip. After taking off, we were quickly served dinner, which was nice, after which I passed out before they picked up the trays and didn't stir until just before landing, missing breakfast. Perfect timing. This was all greatly aided by the foam ear plugs that I was finally smart enough to bring on a trip, especially after previous hostel snoring incidents. It was a decent feeling to wake up preparing to start the new experience.

In most cities, my routine seems to be to arrive, to get horribly lost, to return to the starting point, and eventually Forest Gump my away along until I find what I needed. the GPS was a great aid, but when the hostels have no signs in front of the building to expose their inner secrets (e.g. location) to the world, it can be easy to miss a few things. Fortunately my hostel was only 10 minutes walk from the station. I buzzed in and was told to head up to the 4th floor, which in Europe means to go up 5 flights of stairs since their 1st floor is ou 2nd story/floor. There was an elevator, however it required a couple of 5 cent euro coins with all I had consisting of just 50 or 20 euro notes, so up the stairs I went carrying everything I owned on this continent.

I had been nervous all week when looking at the weather reports since the indications were that it would rain much of my first trip, however as in almost all of my other trips, I simply lucked out in that for the two weeks I was in-country, it never rained. I was afraid that the first day would be full of post-card pics of me being soaked by the rain. I already anticipated my first pictures would be of the Trinita dei Monti (wet Spanish Steps), the Piazza del Popolo (large People's square, also wet), Palazzo di Glustizia (very unique, wet architecture) which was next to the Castel Sant' Angelo (fortress of massive, wet proportions) beside the Ponte Sant' Angelo (wonderfully wet bridge lined with sculptures), and wet city of God, The Holy See. However, all I experienced was sunshine and decent temperatures.

I checked into the Sandy Hostel, grabbed a touristy map, and then headed for the metro and one to the Vatican City. After grabbing my first real bite of the morning at a pizzeria just a few feet from the outer Vatican walls, I headed for the museum entrance. The Vatican is a place that cannot be rushed. This is partly because it is physically impossible to do anything but stand in a crowd or line up, but mainly because there is so much to take in. The Vatican museum is more then just the Capella Sistina (as every wall is filled with murals, sculptures watch over each room, and the hallways are covered with intricate ceiling art), but they never let you forget that Michelangelo's ceiling is the main event. So many of the paintings, sculptures, and art works lining the wall could probably be a showcase of themselves at most museums throughout the world, so it can be easy to be overwhelmed. After an 90 minutes of moving through the museum and following the Capella Sistina signs, I seemed to walk through a fairly nondescript hallway and door into the chapel itself. The room was huge. I didn't even care that my neck ached beyond pain killers; the work was spectacular. I stayed in this room for probably over an hour and a half just trying to take it all in. I did get amused at times by all the covert camera work as everyone turned into spys as the security guards would break the imposed silence by the occasional hand clap and "No foto" exclamation when someone's flash would inadvertently go off. One thing that made the excursion more enjoyable was a couple of audio guides that I downloaded into my iPod Touch before leaving home. Everyone is familiar with the rented audioguides that people can get at the museums, but increasingly more free guides are being made freely available on the Internet. I really liked the Rick Steves Italy audioguides as they were pretty well laid out and provide info in a format I liked. I also found another set of audio guides, ItalyGuides.it, that were nice to have as a supplement as well.

The Vatican part two was in the afternoon. Every Wednesday the Pope addresses the crowd in St. Peter's Square, so the museum was light on visitors during this time. When I was finished, I found the square to be relatively empty as everyone had already left, so the wait to get into St. Peter's Basilica was very short. I have never been much of a church goer in the past, but found it very easy to get lost in the Cathedral's force of importance. You couldn't help but feel how powerful St. Peter's Basilica was. This visit involved over another hour of slow browsing and taking it all in, or at least making my best attempts to do so. There were some distance marks in the floor throughout that showed the where the next largest churches in the world would have fit. It is impossible to effectively describe how immense this place was. Even the most wide-angle, 10mm, setting on my camera lens from the opposite end of the church could barely take it all in. Unfortunately, the access to the dome shut down for the day before I finally found its location, but that really couldn't distract the overall grandeur of this place. I headed back into the square and sat by the fountain and central obelisk for a while just enjoying the ambiance. I loved looking at the Bernini columns in the Piazza San Pietro. There was one spot where the viewer would see every column lined up in perfect rows. to me they looked like stone sequoias on sentry duty to protects and support this open holy space. I came across a red stone, almost randomly, on the northwest section of the square that I later learned was a mark for the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot. Overall, I spent 5 hours at the Vatican with at least two of those in the Capella Sistina. It was well worth the time. Even if one is not Catholic, you cannot help but feel humbled and very small by being in a place like this.