Rome - Day 2

The schedule for our second day in Rome was another tour. This time it was the Coliseum, Forum, and ending at the Pantheon.

One of my favourite memories from the trip was the look on J's face as he got a glimpse of the Coliseum as we were driving there. His smile said it all. It is so big that you see it before you get there.

We met our guide for the morning near the Arch of Constantine.

We could look over towards the forum which in some ways just looks like ruins.

They are doing some repair work on the Coliseum. We had "skip the line" tickets. So there wasn't much of a wait to get in.

 The Coliseum is huge, I guess that makes sense when you consider the word.

Construction of this began in 72 AD. It is fascinating to me how structures like this were built. Before the trip we had read how the Romans had perfected the arch and they had plenty of them here.

We had a great day and had decided to go in the morning thinking it would not be as hot as the afternoon.

I do appreciate the cross here which is where the emperor sat. I think it is fitting to remember all that happened here.

Miss K was enjoying climbing and posing for photos.

You can see where the people sat.

Here we are proof that we were there.

 This is the Arch of Titus.

Here is the area where it shows the spoils of Jerusalem being taken away. (Another photo from our history timeline cards.)

There were a few places around the forum that we found these "ancient games". It is interesting to see these. The kids tried to make up a game to play.

We wandered through the Forum.

Rome is known for its fountains. The water is cool and refreshing especially on a hot day. Miss K was trying to drink from the fountain. The aqueducts built 2,000 years ago are still working and supplying some of the water for the city.

Here is another fountain. We didn't go to Trevi Fountain as we were just too hot and tired.

The Pantheon not to be confused with the Parthenon which is in Greece. This was another building completed by Hadrian.

It was interesting to be inside a building that was built almost 2,000 years ago.

It was a dome which in addition to the arches, the Romans knew how to build domes. The guide called the window a "magic window" because of the way it allowed the light in. Miss K was very fascinated with that. The window is open and so rain also comes in but there are drains on the floor. Miss K got down on her hands and knees to look at the drains.

There were various pieces of artwork around the building

We had a great day and enjoyed our tour guide. Guess what, we got another tour guide that spoke Chinese. This one worked for China Airlines and so we talked about Taiwan.

Beth