Italy - Day 15 - Rome

We started this day in Rome differently than any of the others on this vacation, with a good, long sleep-in.  It was pushing noon before we finally managed to get out on to the street and into the subway.  I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing.  Looking back on our planning process now, we would probably tell you that we may have scheduled one, or maybe even two, too many days in Rome.  If you're putting in good long days and have a good itinerary planned for each day, you can probably hit a lot of the highlights in 3 days.  It's been nice to have those two extra days as a cushion.  It means we can have a sleep in without feeling too guilty and that we can take our time perusing some obscure corner of an ancient Rome.

Our first stop of the day was breakfast on the street, which could be quite scary in most places, but we took advantage of one of Rome's better features, roving fruit vendors.  These carts carry great, fresh fruit and melon combinations that are the perfect accompaniment on a hot day.  The day itself was hot, and more than a little muggy.  We ended up having to take cover under a second century archway on the Palatine Hill near Domitian's palace.  The entire complex on the hill was quite an enjoyable place to wander around.  There were fantastic ruins with imaginative flower arrangements that really made them pop.  We walked around the ruins of several palaces, built one on top of the other in some of the best real estate in ancient Rome.  We got to see the house of Augustus and the one of his wife Livia, separated by a few hundred metres in an old school attempt to give his lady her space.  Even though there were a few raindrops it wasn't enough to keep the dust of the footpaths from accumulating in your sandals, a unique connection to Romans who likely had the same problem 2000 years ago.

From the Palatine Hill we wandered down to see the Colosseum.  To be honest, when you come down the hill it doesn't look big enough to merit the colossal designation.  History buffs would now likely point out that it is called the Colosseum not for its size, but because it stands on the site where a colossal statue of Nero once stood.  Once inside, though, you could really get an appreciation for its immensity. There was an excellent little interpretive path you could take with English translations telling you all about the history and use of the arena.  It is truly stunning the imaginative and barbarically cruel ways they found to kill criminals, Christians and vast number of ostriches in the name of 'entertainment'.  I always wondered if two guys in the nosebleed seats on the third deck ever watched a group of criminals forced to wear tar-soaked shirts set on fire and said to each other - "You think maybe this is a little much?"

After the Colosseum we took a good look at the Arch of Constantine, earned after his victory over a rival emperor at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.  We then wandered over to the Capitoline Museum.  We were running a little low on energy and the trek to the top of the hill didn't help, but there was an extremely interesting exhibit going that instantaneously had us hooked.  It was all about documents from the Vatican Archives.  It was amazing the vast swath of history covered by these documents.  There was a birch bark letter from the Chief of Canada's Ojibwe people to the pope asking for additional missionaries.  There was a 60 metre scroll covering all the details from the trial of the Knights Templar, as well as a letter from the British nobles requesting the Pope's approval of Henry VIII's annulment from Catherine of Aragon.  There were even notes from the trial of Galileo Galilee.  For a history buff like myself it was beyond cool to see so many original documents concerning so many of history's important turning points.

The rest of the museum had some more great sculpture, including some bronze pieces from what must have been a truly gigantic statue of Constantine.  But it was all a little less impressive than the temporary exhibit of letters.  

We struggled back to the hotel after a long day and managed to make it back in just in time to watch the Holland-Denmark game.  While the Dutch dominated, they couldn't finish and the result was a little disappointing, but we still have hope for the rest of the tournament.  Hup Holland Hup!