Rome- Day 1

As we mentioned earlier, because of the train strike, we had to cut our time in Rome short.  This meant our sightseeing itinerary became pretty jam-packed into two days instead of three.  We woke up early in the morning to head for the Colosseum.

Because the history of all of these sights is so in-depth, I will spare you the long version and try to abbreviate it as much as possible.  If you want to know more, there's always Wikipedia. :)  Here's a quick fact (Rick Steves driven) to get some perspective-- The Roman Empire lasted 1000 years starting around 500 BC give or take. It grew for 500 years, peaked for 200 years, and fell for 300 years.

The Colosseum is a structure that seems so familiar (like a modern stadium) but knowing that it has been standing for nearly 2000 years makes it pretty unique.

One thing I particularly enjoy about all this Roman history is the ties it has to Christian history, since it makes it a little more relevant to me. (More of this tomorrow at the Vatican)  For example, according to legend (although not proven historically), ancient Christians were martyred in the Colosseum.  Right outside the Colosseum, you can see the Arch of Constantine.  This was in honor of the Emperor Constantine's victory.  Constantine was of course famous for declaring Christianity the religion of Rome, and by proxy the entire Western world (around 300 AD give or take).

After a quick picnic lunch, we headed to the Roman Forum. The Forum was the center of Ancient Roman civilization.  As you walk through the ruins, you see columns of former senate buildings, temples, basilicas, even the site of the public burning of Julius Ceaser.  Yikes. While these are ruins now, it helps paint a picture of the world the Romans lived in so long ago.  One interesting fact is that the ruins remained buried until the 1800s and the final excavation was finished in the 20th Century.

Around the corner from the Forum, we stumbled upon this stunning building.  Known as the Il Vittoriano, it was built as a memorial to Italy's first king and also houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier- Italian version.  It's a beautiful, impressive building that is said to mimic the way some of Ancient Rome's buildings may have looked in their hey-day. This version was built in the early 1900s.

Our last tourist stop for the day was the Pantheon.  The Pantheon is one of the most well-preserved buildings of Ancient Rome. It was built in 126AD and has been continuously used as a house of worship ever since then.  First, to Roman gods and then as a Christian church.  It is most famous for its dome, which is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

Whoa. It was quite a day of sightseeing. We returned to our Airbnb home in the university district for a well-deserved dinner.

One part of travel we haven't mentioned yet is language. Neither Scott nor I speak any Italian. (We had more success with German, since Scott took it in school.)  Most of the time we can communicate via broken English and gestures. Sometimes, though, it just doesn't work out.  For example, this night, instead of ordering a glass of wine, I accidentally ordered a pitcher.  Oops.  :)