Day 10 - Colosseum & Forum

Although the adults had all been to the Colosseum & Forum before, Ry had not...so this day was all about showcasing the best of Rome's ancient ruins to him. Because what child isn't filled with endless wonder over crumbling buildings? Certainly not my cultured son.

JK. He told me, "Mom, the Colosseum was interesting. But...only for like, ten minutes."

Sadly for him, our trip there was nearly half a day. The first hour was spent getting there and picking up our skip the line tickets, then queuing in the security line. Although we had opted for the pricier, speedier option, it still took a good amount of time.

What I love about the Colosseum is that the minute you step out of the subway and emerge through the gates, you can almost immediately see the massive exterior looming head. It's always a bit surreal.

Built roughly 2,000 years ago, mostly on the backs of thousands of slaves, it could fit about 55,000 people. Though unusable as am amphitheater today, I was surprised that it's still the world's largest. I recall reading that with it's 80 entrances, it was designed to fill up and empty out in 10-15 minutes, but don't quote me on that. Most events there were free, designed and paid for by the Emperor to curry favor with the masses. As much of the entertainment was pretty grisly (think gladiator battles, the slaying of tens of thousands of wild animals (many exotic and shipped in from Africa), the blood shed on those floors must have been quite...thick.

Although much of it has been rebuilt due to vandalism, earthquakes and the ravages of time, it still maintains an authentic feel to the times...especially the passage ways that were once beneath the floor of the theater (where gladiators and wild animals were corralled before the show). I was surprised to learn that gladiators were largely prisoners, slaves and criminals...as my prior assumption was that they were held in higher regard- like knights. I also learned that they could once somehow flood the theater floor and fill it with enough water to stage battles on ships. It clearly was an architectural wonder both then and now.

Rich spied this photo op on the second or third floor of the Collosseum, where there were a number of gallery-like exhibits.

The original, crumbling stairs/ramp into the amphitheater are still visible and preserved.

Although the next day was slated to rain, we couldn't have enjoyed more perfect weather there. And despite never really having a low travel season (Rome's Colosseum is a year round attraction that is just insane in summer), we lucked out with relatively shorter lines.

Ryan begged to rent one of these, but it was already noon by the the time we left the Colosseum...so we promised to try later after we'd walked around the Forum for a bit.

The last time I'd been there, we skipped Palantine Hill, which was unfortunate, as it's main attraction in my opinion, is it's 180 views of the Forum down below.

Whilst paying tribute to one of the Emperors (either Augustus or Constantine) in their temple...we captured a rainbow on Ryan's face/body. ;-)

Our hours-long walk through the Forum was meant to end here...the Temple of Saturn.

Once we were done, with the sun about to set, we hustled back to see if we could still rent a bicycle cart for Ryan to ride. Luckily, we nabbed one that we could ride around the Colosseum for an hour (an intimidating prospect, as the roads around it were packed in certain areas). We also learned the unpleasant way riding with Ryan that he's brake-happy.

It was the perfect end to a long day, and a long wait for Ryan to have some fun! :-D