Colosseum

Today is all about indulging Gareth’s need to see the Colosseum, not just from the outside, not just a walk around but a full 3 hour tour through the underground, and including Palatine Hill.

We leave the campground and it's 27 degrees already.  By the time we get to the metro its 30, and as we walk around the Roman ruins, it's a full 38 degrees of blazing sun and no shelter.  On the plus side, this level of heat seems to have put off the masses today, still very busy, but not packed.  It's all about being acclimated to the conditions.  For us, we survived, the family with us on the tour from the states, they tried, but bailed on the tour two thirds the way in, and our guide, well, she didn’t look like she broke a sweat, and her shirt looked to be made of wool, something I would wear in Autumn.

Our guide was so passionate about bringing the hill to life, and had such good knowledge, it was impossible not to imagine the ruins as they once were, plus she had pictures for those who lack imagination :) I learnt so much from her, never knew Cleopatra and Julius Caesar had a baby, or that the Greeks taught the Romans to read and write.

In the absolute heat of the day, being underground in the Colosseum is a bit of a relief.  And I say a bit of a relief, as seeing how the design of the underground bought all the shows to life, what the conditions must have been like for the slaves, the animals, and the tunnel from Ludus Magnus that the gladiators would walk through to potential death weighs heavily as you walk through the tunnels and shafts.

But I'm also sidetracked by the fact that Clarke Gayford, Jacinda Arden and little Neve walk past us coming out of the toilets in the Colosseum.  Of all the places to see some famous kiwis aye.

I think full credit needs to be given to our Colosseum tour operator who was either loved or hated in their reviews.  I had booked a tour aimed at families, and so the content was moderated to leave out some of the more extreme atrocities that happened to entertain the people.  So I'm calling this and Doges palace tour a win.  When aimed at the younger audience we all seem to come away from the experience happy.

My worry that the experience of today may be a little dampened by the extreme heat is unfounded.  The kids, especially Zach loved the tour, Gareth is a happy camper, and the conversation about what has been heard and experienced carries on for the rest of the evening as we slip back to the little air con paradise.  In my last post I had said we would try to avoid the bus in Rome at all costs, well we have found a regional train that stops 1km away from the camp, and we decide we would rather walk in the searing heat, drying up like wrinkled raisins than get the bus.  On the first walk back from the train Kaia is crying out what little water is left in her body.  But on the second trip back, we realise a bottle of sprite on the walk home stops the meltdowns.  And wow have we drunk loads of sprite and iced tea in Europe.

With two full on packed days with early starts, the next two days are chill days.  We get up later, do some school work, and in the afternoon make our way to the Trevi Fountain. The kids throw coins into the foundation and like almost everyday we eat gelato, and walk to the top of the Spanish Steps.  Late afternoon still has the crowds but I'm guessing nowhere near earlier in the day.  Dinner is pasta and pizza at the top of the stairs and as usual Zach continues his vow of eating Carbonara every day.  Today for once, Kaia goes experimental and eats a different kind of pasta, and to her surprise it's pretty good.

As we make our way back to the shack, and we walk past the camp pool full of people, we all look longingly at it, but if you had seen the level of dirt on us, then times by half the camp in the pool you’d be put off too.  

On the whole, Rome is a city you probably just keep coming back to, and I'm unsure why, it's hot, super dirty with rubbish everywhere, overcrowded, full of opportunistic thieves but it just has a vibe, that you feel both relief to be leaving, but also a feeling that you will come back.