Day Seven--Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum
Day Seven--The Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum Another glorious day! We'd decided to wait to visit these popular sites for a day when Anne would be working, so we scheduled tickets today for this venue. By now Katherine and I know our way around this area quite well and we're pretty adept at staring down traffic as we cross the street at the pedestrian-striped crosswalks. We definitely have the right of way, but if you just wait until the coast is clear, you'll be there forever. So the trick is to step out into the street, giving traffic enough time to slow and stop for you. It takes guts sometimes, but crossing with determination is a learned skill.
We began at Palatine Hill, exchanging our voucher for tickets and selecting a 4 pm Colosseum entrance time. We strolled Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, and saw the area transform before our eyes from ancient (primitive) time through its thriving era via a video in the museum there. At one time the place housed emperors in a 150,000 foot palace--in fact the word palace comes from this hill. Only a few remnants remain, but the hill is an integral part of the history of Rome.
The Palatine opens up into the Roman Forum, so we wandered down there after completing the hill tour. We were delighted the morning sun wasn't hotter and couldn't imagine what that area would be like in the midst of summer. Nearly unbearable, we imagined. We followed a Rick Steves' audio and felt he did an adequate job of directing us here and there and explaining things. I loved seeing the very spot where Julius Caesar was said to have died and remembered how often I'd taught his supposed last words: Et tu, Brute? Then fall Caesar.
We strolled on back to the apartment, donned lighter clothing as it was getting warm, and texted Anne we were ready to meet her for lunch. Going back to Eataly was on the agenda, since the Cat Bistro she was hoping to take us to was closed for the day. Seeing Eataly this time around wasn't as overwhelming and we all tried pasta. Then Anne zipped back to work, and Katherine and I couldn't resist grabbing beer and wine for later.
We dropped our purchases back at the apartment and set off for the Colosseum. The day had warmed and I was as scantily clad as possible--skirt and tank top. I imagined tons of people, being overcome by heat, fainting, etc. etc. Well, instead it was a delightful tour. The line moved quickly, Rick Steves was on my phone, and he gave us another look at the shell that used to be the Colosseum. One thing that stuck with me is that after it was completed in 80 AD, a 100-day celebration was held and 2000 people were killed while fighting. That's one person being killed every 5 minutes. Also the "shows" were free to everyone, and the rich and "in-charge" intentionally kept it that way to placate the masses.
Decided to visit our favorite part of Rome, Trastevere, and have dinner. Delicious. Each of us had four courses and wine. Total bill: 56 Euros. Not bad!
