On Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008, we headed to Rome on holiday! Here are some photos of our journey over...The boys loved the plane rides! And it was perfect because the two bigger ones each got a window seat!
At the Play Area in Aberdeen airport waiting for our plane to arrive…a great way to pass the time.
Great view of Scotland coast along the North Sea.
Mark trying to get some reading done while traveling with three young boys…ambitious to say the least! But he definitely picked the “right” one to sit near! :)
Here are the two cheeky monkeys sitting by me! :) Gotta love those smiles!
Early flights have their plus side…they “crash” hard when their adrenaline rush runs out. Note the drool mark on his shirt! :)
Even our “little man” couldn’t hold out and found comfort in Daddy’s jacket as a pillow.
Our hotel…it was sooooo nice! It had a fantastic FULL breakfast every morning. The choices seemed endless. It was so perfect to be able to wake up with the boys and just go downstairs to “fill up” for a good morning start. We also rented a car, as we planned some excursions out of Rome to break it up a bit. The hotel was on the outskirts of Rome, so it was much more peaceful and scenic. A major bonus was that it had a coach bus into the city everyday, several times a day!
Our REAL adventure began on the 23rd July…here goes!
I must admit, we worked the boys pretty hard. We were up about 6am to be dressed, ready, fed, and on the bus for 7:30 or so. We did SO much EVERY day. By the bus ride home, round 6-6:30 they were absolutely wiped out! We walked EVERYWHERE! We wanted to see and “take in” as much as possible, so we did! It was also SUPER hot…like Houston! And even though the boys had only been in Scotland a little over a month and a half, they constantly mentioned how much they liked Scotland’s weather better, especially Trevor! We all got sunburned…a bit crazy after being in Aberdeen and it being so pleasant…no BLAZING sun. But it was nice to be able to wear our warm weather clothes…
The Colosseum ( or Coliseum) – the elliptical amphitheatre in the center of Rome,Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. Its construction started between 70-72AD and was completed in 80AD. It was capable of seating 50,00 spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It is an amazing site to see! So much more impressive in person!
Men dressed as Gladiators outside of the Colosseum.
Plaque above the entrance.
Close-up of the damage it has endured over the years. Much of it came with the Great Earthquake of 1349, when the outer South side collapsed. The “holes” you see are actually potmarks, where people pried or hacked out, the original bronze clamps that held the stonework together.
The center part you see would have actually been under the main floor of the amphitheatre. They were the tunnels and rooms where the gladiators, lions, speakers and workers, would have done all the “behind the scenes” stuff before the big performance.
The seating for the 50,000 people would have been up the sides, along all the different tiers.
Trevor and Daddy
Cameron found some shade…happy as a clam!
The “hall” that wraps around The Colosseum. It is multi level and would have been the way all the spectators filed into their seats before a performance.
One of the hallways that is closed to the public, due to damage.
Due to all the tourism, they have installed lots of safety railing so people can “see” as much as possible and share in this amazing architectural feat of its time! Still glorious, even today!
Amazing!!
Cameron and Trevor
Crazy boys!
Mark and I at The Colosseum
Our family…Landen is cashed out cold in the buggy just outside the view of the camera in the shade!
See….here he is! :)
Inside The Colosseum.
Arch of Constantine from The Colosseum.
Mark with The Forum in the background.
Looking toward The Forum. You can also see “The Dig” that I talk about further down.
The top part of a fallen column…still beautiful. I would have taken it home if I could have!:)
You can see how close the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine are to each other.
A photograph of the Colosseum from the vantage point of Palatine Hill.
Mark with The Colosseum in the background.
The Arch of Constantine – It is situated between the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. It was built to commemorate Constantine I’s victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312AD. To give you an idea of its size…it is 21 m high, 25.7 m wide and 7.4 m deep.
The detail on the Arch is simply amazing! You could stand there all day, getting a crink in your neck, looking at all the different carvings!
Us in front of the Arch of Constantine (Cameron is taking the photo)
Entrance to Palatine Hill/The Forum
Plaque at the entrance of Palatine Hill and The Forum. We even thought the sign was cool…:)
As we went up Palatine Hill toward The Forum, there was a “live” archeological site! The boys (as well as Mark and I) thought it was so cool! The boys speculated as to what they might find.
More of “The Dig”!
Palatine Hill and The Forum make up a big area, so here are some different pictures of its parts…we spent a couple of HOURS there! Amazing…especially to imagine it in its prime. Cameron carried around his “Rome - Magic Tree House Research Guide” and was just dumbfounded when he was “really” seeing the things he had read about over and over!
Cameron and Trevor
Landen and I
Cameron “being” a statue. :)
Trevor laying amongst the trees….mostly for the shade! :)
This was hysterical! The boys thought this Roman artifact looked like a piano and so they PLAYED it!! I giggle even now!
A fallen plaque
Even after all these years, you can still see the detail work that went into Roman architecture.
Trevor and I
Cameron and Trevor
This was amazing! This was a smaller amphitheatre in The Forum. If you closed one eye, it was almost as if you could “see” it as it was in its day! The ring at the top would have been one where the gladiators performed or a speech was given! WOW!
Mending an injury after Cameron’s climbing led to a fall…so brave!
Me and my boys!
Full columns still standing today!
Looking out over the city. 
More views!
The vastness of The Forum takes your breath away…at least mine!
The Forum was originally a marsh, but the Romans drained the area and turned it into a center of political and social activity. The Forum was the marketplace of Rome and also the business district and civic center. It was expanded to include temples, a senate house and law courts. When the Roman Empire fell, the Forum became forgotten, buried and was used as a cattle pasture during the Middle Ages.
A view of Palatine Hill from in The Forum
Palatine Hill is the centermost part of the “Seven Hills of Rome” and it is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It sits 40 metres above “The Forum Romanum”, looking down upon it from one side, and down upon the “Circus Maximus” on the other side. According to Roman mythology, this is where Romulus and Remus were found by a female wolf and kept alive in a cave.
These aged copper doors were really cool. The rivets were still there.
This is the best preserved building in the Forum. The Emperor Antonius Pius lost his wife Faustina. After her death the Emperor built a magnificent temple in her honor in 141 AD. This temple was changed in the middle ages into the church of "San Lorenzo in Miranda".
Cameron using his charm to “pick up” the three Italian girls! They were so taken by him, we couldn’t help but giggle. He was sharing all sorts of stories…this interlude took quite sometime…:) He felt so BIG after it all!
The “caves” of Palatine Hill off to one side of The Forum.
The sky was so blue!
The boys in the center of the still beautiful Forum.
Much of the forum has been destroyed. Columns and stone blocks are all that remain of some temples. The arch of Titus and the arch of Septimius Severus still stand and are in good shape. Like many other ancient Roman buildings, stone blocks have been removed from the Forum and used to build nearby churches and palaces.
Landen showing us his strength!
Great memories were made…
Temple of Saturn
This temple was erected by the consul Titus Larcius in 17 B.C. in the month of December. It was used as the public treasury and as a repository for the decrees of the senate. Treasures were held in an underground chamber. The temple was enlarged in 42 B.C. and rebuilt after a fire in the 4th century A.D. Eight columns remain of this temple.
To the right are the three columns that remain of the temple of Vespasian which was built by the son of Domitian in 94 A.D. and later restored by Septimius Severus.
The sun peeking out from behind The temple of Saturn.
Column of Phocas
This column commemorates the emperor Phocas's donation of the Pantheon to the Pope of Rome. It was the last monument built within The Forum.
Arch of Septimius Severus
This arch has reliefs of Septimius Severus's victories in Iraq and Iran during the 3rd century carved into the arch. It also honors his two sons, Caracalla and Geta who fought with him in the war. It is located at one end of the Forum. The Forum had been flooded, buried and forgotten for many centuries. During this time the half of the arch that was above ground was used to house a barber shop.
We loved the barber shop story! Can you imagine? That would mean they were “walking” on centuries of history jus below their feet!!
The “ruts” in to stone, still visible today! Evidence of a life centuries ago… wow wee…very cool!
A great photo of the large area that makes up The Forum. To give you a sense of layout: Palatine Hill is to the far right, the Column of Phocas is on the left edge , just beyond that is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, behind “me” is the Temple of Saturn and the Arch of Septimius Severus. Got all that??? I might quiz ya’ later…:)
The Arch in the far center is the Arch of Titus.
It is just to the South-East of the Forum. It is one of two remaining arches on the Forum Romanum. It was erected after the emperor's death, to commemorate chiefly the capture of Jerusalem.
Okay, now continuing to the far end of The Forum, through the Arch of Severus, there is a Church of San Giuseppe Falegname…UNDER that church is the most famous prison of Ancient Rome: The Mamertinum. According to legend, this was the jail where St Peter and St Paul was imprisoned. They would have stayed here for nine months and could runaway thanks to the help of other prisoners converted by apostles. Thus it was transformed in the place of cult with the name San Pietro in Carcere. It consists of two levels and was the most horrible part of the ancient State prison located in the caves under the Capitoline Hill. Numerous illustrious enemies of Rome died here. The higher part of the prison was built in the 2nd century b.C. and was named "Mamertino" (medieval name). The lower part is named "Tullianum" built in 387 b.C. which originally was a water reservoir (tullus)
Another view.
Landen putting in our donation to keeping this “living history”.
This is the altar commemorating the incarceration of Saints Peter and Paul.
Where there is STILL water from the natural spring below.
The Prison was constructed around 640-616 BC, by Ancus Marcius. It was originally created as a cistern for a spring in the floor of the second lower level (there were two, the lower of which was where prisoners were kept by lowering them through the floor of the upper room), but eventually a passage between the cistern drain and the Cloaca Maxima was constructed, reputedly for flushing out dead bodies.
Plaque that state that this is the prison where St Peter and St Paul were imprisoned.
Grate looking up to the next level, as the prison is the lowest/deepest and darkest, part of the structure.
After many hours in the scorching sun….we stopped for some great Italian Gelato!
YUMMY!!
Too great for words! :) Note the sunburn!
Piazza Venezia Rome (The Wedding Cake)
So many spectacular and beautiful pictures of Rome during the day and night have been taken from the steps of the Piazza Venezia at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. This is a rare piazza that is actually square as most of them were intended to be. Art often gets in the way of nice careful geometric shapes. The massive statue in the middle of the square is of King Victor Emmanuel II who was the first king of a unified Italy in 1871. Any view of Rome from the steps will almost certainly include the statue.
Streets of Rome…I love them!
Another view
Closer up…
Plaque on the Colosseum
Underground
Landen “cashed out” after our first, very busy day in Rome!
So, that was our first day in Rome! It was amazing…we did SO much. And to think, I did not even post half of the pictures we took!!
Stay tuned for Day 2…
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