Coloseo in the Sunshine

Today was the only day of our weekend, and was it a good one. The weather was close to perfect, a little cool in the shade, but the breeze was blowing and the sky was a perfect shade of blue. Unlike back home, Rome's humidity tends to stay pretty low unless, obviously, it's raining. It seemed like everyone was out today. It was a little warmer than yesterday and because it's Sunday, everyone was relaxing, preparing for the week ahead.

Our morning started out a little later than usual. I finally had the opportunity to sleep in. I managed to sleep until 11 and I had gone to bed a little past midnight. It felt lovely. But upon waking this morning, come to find out our toilet button was "broken". Here in Europe, unlike the states, there's a button on the wall directly behind the toilet that one pushes to start the flushing mechanism. The cavity, normally behind American toilets, is moved up the wall, almost to the point of needing a ladder to reach it. But either way, the button used to flush had gotten stuck in the wall, so our business just had to wait. My roomates and I sat around waiting for the repairman to show, but no such luck and we were running out of time to spend at the Coloseo (Colosseum). Finally we decided to pack up our things and head out.

We managed to do two huge loops, once through an unknown area of town and the second through the Jewish ghetto. The latter of the two turned out to be a rather beneficial venture for it is filled with restaurant after restaurant; all of which smell incredible. I will definitely be convincing some people to go over there for lunch or dinner one day. After our immense loops around from the Tivere (Tiber River) and back again, we finally made it to the Coloseo. It stood beautifully against the blue (almost) cloudless sky. We ran into the rest of our group while making our way around the interior. It's hard to piece together what a sight this must have been. I guess it's comparable to the football stadiums of today. What's even harder to imagine, is the means of constructing such a colossal monument. No cranes, no jack hammers, just back breaking, labor intensive work.

Only the first and second livello (levels) are open to the public. The carcere (the underground stalls where both gladiators and beasts were held) are unavailable unless through private tour (I'm assuming).

Because the heat and sunshine were so hard to pass up today, Nicole and I headed to the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus). It is now a green field with long gravel pathways lining each side. This was orginally, as the name states, a circus. A Roman circus was originally the venue for chariot races and foot races, hence the long, eliptical shape. Where seating once was, is now covered in a green, very fresh scented weed. It is smack in the middle of a high traffic area, but it serves somehow as a wonderful hiatus from the rush of the city. There were Italians and tourists alike, a few people on Segways (why?), children playing a referreed game of tag, a few people playing soccer, a couple getting a little too friendly, and then there was Nicole and me just enjoying the sunshine.

Today was overall relaxing and a nice change of pace. I've gotten some much needed sun on my face, but I believe I'm slightly dehydrated from all of this. A headache is about to send me to bed.