July 7 - Ancient Rome

 We started our day with a visit to Palatine Hill and the Forum. At Palatine Hill we saw the birthplace of Rome, occupied as early as 1000 BCE. The wealthy lived here, and the excavations of the House of Augustus, the Stadium of the Domitian, Flavian House, the Domus Tiberiana (Palace built during the reign of Tiberius), and the gardens of Farnese, built in the 1600s on the ruins of the Domus Tiberiana. 

Next, we went to the Forum, where we saw the Temple of Saturn, the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (Complete with rope marks where they tried to pull the marble columns down in the 7th or 8th century to get the valuable marble, but were unable to do to), The Temple of Romulus (Not Romulus of the Remus and Romulus lore, but Romulus, the son of Emperor Maxentius, and the Cloaca Maxima (one of the oldest sewer systems in the world. 

Some stuff was hard to identify, but it was pretty awesome to get up close and personal to so many ancient artifacts. I was really impressed by the columns and the arches that were built thousands of years ago that are still standing strong today. 

The day was warm - upper 80s - but breezy all day long which was lovely. Honestly, we are so use to traveling in the summer that the heat was bearable - I heard horror stories. But I do envy those who can travel in the spring or fall - cooler weather and fewer crowds would be awesome. Still, we did good over all, but we were definitely ready for a break. 

We had lunch at Alice Pizza, where you go in and select your pizza from a counter of like 15 different choices. We also got gelato for dessert. I am shocked at how reasonable food costs are here. Way too much pizza and 3 sodas cost $20. Gelato for all of us cost $13. 

We were able to take a short rest back in the hotel before heading to the Colosseum! Our first Wonder of the World! It is unbelievable that this ancient stadium is still standing. It's history is fascinating - obviously the tales of the gladiators is where they story starts - built from 70-80 CE. An ancient arena with an underground staging area of tunnels where fighters would wait to be lifted on to the stage via platforms that rose up using a pulley system, and a seating system that allowed Romans to come spectate for free, seating 50,000-80,000 spectators sitting in the section allotted to their class. Also fascinating was how it changed over the years - from falling into decay after an earthquake and fire and being basically abandoned, to being used for farming and workshop stalls. At one point, the colosseum became overrun with plants becoming a wild, terraced garden. I thought it was rather awesome to see in person!

Finally, we headed to Trestevore, a neighborhood in Rome known for meandering alleys, ivy covered walls, and outdoor seating festively lit by strands of bulbs. Dinner was Roman fare, pasta, meat, salad. and everything we had was delicious! After dinner we roamed the neighborhood, which was hopping with people, and then wandered along the Tiber River before heading back to our hotel. 

From Geoffrey: 

First, we ate breakfast in the hotel. It was a small area, but the food was pretty good and held us over until lunch. Then we set off to Palatine Hill. It was awesome—we saw lots of great views of the city and explored ruins from thousands of years ago.

After lunch, a quick grocery store stop, and a trip back to the hotel, we left for the Colosseum. This was very awesome and what we’d been waiting to see all trip. It was really crowded, but once we made it to the top, there were amazing views looking down into it.

Finally, we ate dinner at a great restaurant where we tried lots of authentic dishes, then walked back to our hotel.

From Katelyn:

We started off the day with breakfast in our hotel. After that, we went to Palatine Hill, where we saw lots of beautiful ruins and artifacts. Then we had lunch at a pizza place that had lots of options. After, we got gelato—Dad and I shared the cookie flavor.

Later, we went to the Colosseum. It was so amazing to see. We ate dinner at a yummy restaurant, where I had pasta with meat sauce. We strolled around town and then went back to the hotel.

More photos here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QopbhihhB6mcbwSh6