If you missed any parts to this continuous blog please click the links just below.
The second day of our Rome visit, was the day I was
most excited about (apart from the wedding!!). To come to Rome was a lifelong
dream after being obsessed with the Roman Empire as a child, but visiting the
ruins and the Colosseum was a real bucket list moment for me.
We arrived at the Colosseum for opening time and there
was already about 150 tourists in front of us. Not wanting to just assume we'd
be able to queue jump because of my wheelchair, we joined the line, only to be
ushered to the front where the ticket office issued us with two free two day
passes to the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine.
Walking through the corridors out into the main
arena I had Goosebumps, I always knew the place was huge but until you're
inside you cannot fully appreciate the magnitude of the building. Knowing its
history and the "games" that commenced there, I can't begin to
imagine the terror of the competitors made up of slaves and petty criminals.
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| Inside the Colosseum |
Despite its bloody past, the Colosseum was beautiful
in its crumbling state and I was overwhelmed by being there finally to witness
this magnificent place for myself.
We decided to peruse the onsite museum, which held
some beautiful art works from Rome and Pompeii (another bucket list designation
for another time) and being a complete tourist I bought a beautiful book on
Ancient Rome.
It's was a blistering hot day, well into the 30's
and at almost 70% humidity, but Mike braved the heat and the Seven Roman hills
to take me into the Palatine Hill ruins. After about 20 minutes, Mike was
exhausted and apologising that we'd have to go, although I was sad to have to
leave, it was not worth Mikes health, but at that moment, an electric golf
buggy turned up beside us. Two of the onsite staff had spotted our struggle and
offered us a ride to the top of the hill to see the Palatine to its fullest. I
was so chuffed, Mike was grateful and relieved!
The Palatine was amazing, especially the stadium and
gardens within, with arches, three story homes and business buildings, all
built with such precision and skill, I
don't think we can truly appreciate the genius of the Romans, the same goes for
the Forum; the man power needed to erect and stabilise such huge monuments and
buildings is mind blowing!
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| The Stadium in the Palatine |
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| The Forum |
At about 3pm, as we were leaving the site, a
thunderstorm started with a lightning bolt striking near the Colosseum, so we
hot footed it back to our hotel and within seconds the heavens opened for a
couple of hours - thankfully lifting some of the humidity.
For dinner we went to a place called La Matriciana
which was established in 1870 and we had the most scrumptious meal of the whole
trip; fresh baked breads, tasty cured meats cut at our tableside, the freshest
Mozzerella, the best Ragu I've ever eaten and the most mouth watering desserts,
all washed down with Martini cocktails and local beers - a delightful end to
our time in Rome - next stop Tuscany!
L x
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