Roman Coliseum and Forum

A few days ago I was eating at a restaurant and when I looked at the kids menu there was a picture of the Coliseum and I thought "I still can't believe I was actually there".  As a historian I thought this was the most amazing place I had ever seen. My husband was hoping for a relaxing vacation, but for the four days we were in Rome, I drug him everywhere! Everywhere you look there is something to see and learn.

While we were in Rome, Italy we bought and used the Roma pass. I thought this was a big money saver. This pass gets you into two attractions and it was good was the bus and subway system. You HAVE to figure out the bus and subway system or you will walk until you can no longer mover your legs! The great thing about the attractions is that some attractions are 2 in 1 or 4 in 1. For example we chose to use it for a pass to the Coliseum, but it included a pass to get into the Roman Forum. So, essentially we got 2 for 1 because it only counted for 1 attraction.

The Coliseum did not disappoint. Although it looks just like it does in pictures there is so much more to see. To walk through it was amazing. There is a part underneath with all kinds of history and artifacts.

In this picture you can see what it looks like today, but if you look at the very end of the pit you will see the floor they have rebuilt. Used to, when this was actually used, a floored completely cover that bottom area along with a ton of trap doors. The "actors" could pop out all over the place; as could the animals that were about to eat them! They also had the ability to put water through there for various events.  The whole Coliseum was much more advanced than I had realized.

Here are a few photos of the Roman Forum. We did not take a tour but instead walked around reading the signs and listening to a Rick Steves podcast tour. These podcast tours are free and awesome. It was easy to understand a tour given by an American.

This huge thing behind me was 1 of 3 remaining structures thy mark the entrance to the old city. Way behind me is also Palatine Hill. Until we were there in person it never occurred to me it was named that because it was built on a massive hill. Someone actually recommended skipping Palatine hill and I'm so thankful we didn't. Back there we saw what remained of Augustus's house and a small arena where the important people where entertained.

Just seeing these three things was a full day. A wonderful day!

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