May 30 - Walk Of The Gladiators

          I don't know where to begin.  It was a very surreal day.  It started off by raining but cleared up by the time we entered the Colosseum.  We had pre-purchased our tickets at www.tickitaly.com. We bought the Colosseum upper and lower levels tour.  It was a 3 1/2 hour tour.  Our guide "Deborah" was extremely welcoming.  She was very knowledgeable, spoke clearly and with passion.  You could tell she really enjoyed her job which made our experience even more memorable.  It is advisable to go with a tour group as without them you cannot enter all areas.  Also if you order online you will avoid the long lines of having to wait to purchase a ticket.

          The Colosseum is not round as it appears but is actually a large oval shape.  It held about 75 thousand spectators, workers, slaves and Gladiators.  I felt like I was in a movie.  Listening to the tales of the time you could almost see the Colosseum come to life before your eyes.  You could imagine, some of the people we know from history, where they would of sat based on their station in life.  We followed the footsteps of the Gladiators from the dungeons to their entering the arena for battle.  Seeing the lower level allowed us to view where the Gladiators entered and see the rooms where they awaited their turn to battle and then follow their path out to arena.  We found out that there were actually female Gladiators but they were only allowed to battle dwarves, so as to make the battle a fair one.  Interesting to find out that the word "arena" came from the Roman word for sand. 

          Following the Colosseum our tour continued to the Forum.  It was spectacular.  Our guide had a book that she used to show us the original state of the structures.  We would of loved a copy of that book.  I am sure it is out there.  We saw where Julius Caesar remains were buried.  Still today people leave flowers on this site for him.  Archeologists found a stone map of Rome that has given them invaluable information of the accurate locations of the ruins.  What an amazing find! 

          Outside the Colosseum was an abundance of entertainment.  There are horse drawn carriages, sidewalk entertainers, souvenir kiosks, and food.  There were Roman Soldiers posing with tourists for pictures and of course 3 Euro's.  But who could pass this up?  It brought back memories of the old Roman movies with Kirk Douglas.   

          Neil said this was an amazing day and he was so glad we were doing this trip.  He was however very tired.  The day had taken a lot out of him with the long walk and climbing of stairs.  He is still recovering from his cancer surgery.  We stopped for a quick supper and headed back to our hotel so he could rest.  Why is that when you are on vacation that the time seems to pass by so quickly.  Tomorrow however promises to be enlightening as we tour the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.  I will do what I can for photo's but we are told no photo's are allowed to be taken inside the Sistine Chapel.  All other photo's can be taken but no flash is allowed.  Also a dress code is strictly enforced - no knees or shoulders can be seen.

          I have attached a few photo's from today and hope you enjoy them.

Ciao...Tori