quattro giorni

Another AMAZING day in ROMA!!!!! I still can't believe I am here!!!! Happy Saturday!!! This morning was the earliest morning because we went to my cousin Rachel's soccer game. They kicked butt 5-0 and she had two goals! Then we went back home, had a quick bite to eat, put our sneakers on (thank goodness) and headed to the colossium!!!!

The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero.  This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. We joined a tour (in English of course) and headed into the theater as Roman citizens he said, because only then will we truly appreciate the theater!! It's where all the entertainment was way back in the day!! It was just amazing that it was only built in 8 years, but it was also built by four different people, and about some 50,000 slaves or so....craziness!!!

Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, causing the outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvional terrain, to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior of the amphitheatre was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble façade) was burned to make quicklime.  The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

My mom stayed outside and read her book, having been here before, so she read and made a few friends with cute babies and an old italian man that she thought was either trying to rob her or hit on her. haha.

I don't even know how long we were in the Colosseum for, but who cares what time it is...I'm in Italy!!! And it's beautiful!! After the Colosseum, we walked out just in time for part two of the tour with a different tour guide, (not bad for not having a watch and no concept whatsoever of the time) Nick, a mexican born english speaking roman. hahaa :) loved him! The tour was about an hour and  half long walking through the Roman forum.

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum plaza surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archeological excavations attracting numerous sightseers.

Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The Roman kingdom's earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. These included the ancient former royal residence, the Regia (8th century BC), and the Temple of Vesta (7th century BC), as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins,  all of which were rebuilt after the rise of imperial Rome.

Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and the Vulcanal (Shrine of Vulcan), developed into the Republic's formal Comitium (assembly area). This is where the Senate and Republican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials and statues gradually cluttered the area.

AMAZING TIME!!!! We still didn't buy tickets for the soccer game, but there is always tomorrow or monday morning... We were afraid we were going to get home too late, because we had dinner reservations for 8 for a nice dinner out celebrating Uncle David and Mom's birthdays!! We went to D'Tio... D' is like chez in french...meaning house of. But of course before catching the bus number 52, after taking the Metro from the Colosseum to Barberini Square, we stopped and had gelato!! I tried cherry this time....deliciousness!!! 

 The bus driver wasn't so bad looking either..just saying. So we made it back with just enough time to freshen up and get in the car to head to dinner!!! FANTASTIC!!! and the waiter wasn't so bad either, just ask mom. haha. We tried a bunch of antipasti dishes (appetizers) including artichokes fried and in olive oil, some fish thing fried, and shrimp tempura! It was all great. For my pasta dish, I ordered pasta in an oil and sage sauce with clams and mussels, and am not afraid to admit that I finished the entire thing! It was great!!!! for the second dish (the meat) my mom and I split the grilled lamb. yumm yummmm! with of course lots of house white wine and we shared two desserts (that they brought out with candles in them) for my mother and my uncle's birthdays!!!