Rome Day 1

Well, after our early morning drive to the airport and the explosion on the way that made us all freak out and actually stop the car to see if a tire had blown (except we all knew the sound was too loud for that), we made it to Rome and spent an hour on the bus just to get to the train station! We never did find out what the explosion was, but really sounded like a car slammed into another car. It was freaky!

So, we rode on the bus for an hour, checked our bags at the train station and then quickly jumped on the metro to go the coluseum. We rode the metro for a while (like 10 minutes maybe) and walked up the stair and BAM!!!! This is what you see. It was so wierd that you don't actually see it from a distance and then work up to it. You just pop out of the ground and see what is around.
The view is amazing and it is truly awe inspiring just to notice the building. How did they make it? How did they have that technologoy to get the arches so perfectly fit together and in a perfect curve? How did they build things three stories tall in this grand of nature? we spent about 1 hour walking around the outside of it and also seeing the arches of Constatine and Titus. Also, the Roman forum is there and we got to see a lot of that, even though we couldn't go inside because it was closed for some odd reason. (We never did figure that out.) Anyways, we were able to go inside the Coluseum and got to see exactly the way things would have been done ther. It is so big that you just look and look and look, but never really can take it in. Then, when you think about what happened there, you just realize that this was a living tomb of history. Then, it is even more distrubing seeing people making out and having picnics or stuff inside! Do they not know what happened here and the seriousness of the lives lost here? Below are a few pictures of the surrounding area.

Arch of Constatine (who legalized Christianity in Rome)

This is by the Roman Forum (by the Coloseum). It is called the poor mans date. The story goes that a man when he had no maney would take his date for a walk around the Forum (free), a walk to Palantine Hill (also free and pictured in the background), and when done, would stop for a drink at this fountain (also free). You cover up the bottom hole where you can fill up bottles or wash your hands and then out shoots water from the top hole and it becomes a fountain. It is actually pretty clever, but there is no talk about conserving water here apparently because it runs all the time.

Pictured inside the Coloseum (yes, we were there!)

When we were done there, we went to the metro and took another 10 minute ride underground and shop up in a little piazza when we got off. You are in this tiny piazza and walk down a long alley and when you round the corner - BAM - there are the Spanish steps. Again, just odd that you don't walk up to it and be able to see it for a long time getting closer. We had gotten a couple gelatos and decided to sit on the steps and eat our ice cream and relax (this is after about 4 hours of walking)!

We did a few other things while in Rome on the first day, but there are too many pictures to post. We will show them to you in person if you really want to see them all. Tomorrow's post will be of the Vatican and of St. Marks Square.