Italy - Day 1 - Rome - Colosseum and Forum
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
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The Colosseum
So what's the first thing everyone should do when they are in Rome? That's right, check into your hotel! If you aren't checking in right away, what's the next thing you should do? Go to the Colosseum of course.
Having been to the Colosseum twice, my main excitement for going again was to take some great pictures and since I had some time on my hands I thought I would go over and get started.
There realy isn't much to mention. I found everything just fine (even though my GPS can't pick up satellites worth a darn. Once I got there I took some pictures and then quickly decided that I would go and see the forum before trying to get tickets for inside.
The Forum
I'll admit that I wasn't a fan of the Forum. To me it's just a hodge-podge of ruins. And I'd say I still feel that way, but I did learn some things That I didn't know before and I'm glad I was able to see them again.
 The firs thing you see when you get there is the Arch of Titus. This was built after stopping the Jewish revolt in Judea (A.D. 70) and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The arch was built by some of the slaves brought back to Rome from that conflict. If you look closely you can see the depiction of the treasures of the temple being carried off. This must have been humiliating for a jew to build.
 The next pice of interest was the Basilica of Constantine. This must be the site that gave rise to the term 'ruins' because it truly looks like the remains of a construction project that no-one finished. What I find interesting is the scale. From a distance, this is an unassuming landmark, but up close you see that those ancient arches are 130 feet tall. And above those arches used to stand another 55 feet tall. Not bad for a structure that is over 1000 years old.
After that though, I'll admit, the rest started to blur together. That, combined with tour groups arriving and my back starting to hurt from carrying my full pack, I was ready to get over to the hostel and check in. And even though I was ready to leave, I guess there was plenty of picture taking to do, because I filled up my 2GB card by this point. Something I thought that wouldn't happen until much later, after all, it wasn't even 1/2 a day.
I was, however, able to test out my international calling by giving my mother a call. It was 5am her time and she was just getting up, but I was able to say hi and to let her know that I had arrived in one piece.
click here to see the Colosseum Galleryclick here to see the Forum gallery
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