Actually, nothing terribly funny happened on the way to the forum, but we did spend the whole day there (Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine/Capitaline hills etc). We were all awake obscenely early (damned jetlag), and so were out the door pretty much straight after our breakfast at 8am.
We strolled towards that region, poking our heads into the odd church including San Bernado (3rd century dome with 15th century marble facia/facelift), and Santa Maria degli Angeli (looks tiny and very old from the outside, with a domed vestibule and a massive nave and body proper). The fellas were suitably impressed.
[Pics to come]
We found some brunch and coffees to supplement our light breakfast provided at the hotel, and sat to eat it overlooking the Piazza del Colosseo.
From my architecture studies, and visits to Rome some **cough**twenty-five**cough** years ago, I knew that one of the reasons the Colosseum still stood is that it was made partly from concrete (as was the Pantheon). The technology was known to the Greeks, who did nothing much with it, but was lost sometime around the fall of the Roman Empire (I think). The bits that could be pilfered were, and I overheard one tour guide explaining that many twelfth century houses were made from third century bricks excavated from the Colosseum.
Access around the Roman Forum region is much more restricted than when I was last here, and there were squoodles more people. (Admittedly, my previous trips were in winter, when only Antipodeans travelling in their summer are daft enough to come.)
[Pics to come]
The boys coped well in the heat (high twenties, somewhat sticky), and lasted until late afternoon with occasional bribes of food, hot chocolate/coffee, and gelati. All three have decided to revisit Assassin's Creed, so they can once again scramble and leap over various Roman monuments, now that they've seen them in the flesh.
We're back at the B&B, for a late siesta type thing, and to rest our sore feet and legs, before setting out for dinner in a few hours.
Edited to add: Dinner was very good, at a Sardinian seafood restaurant just around the corner. From fresh sardines and half a dozen other dishes as entree/antipasti, to a magnificent seafood risotto (mussels, clams, baby crustacea like a 4" long lobster) and sliced tuna salad. Ky ordered a seafood marinara, and then flaked out halfway thru' declaring that he no longer liked seafood. Unfortunately we were too full from the delightful antipasti to possibly finish his as well as ours.
We strolled towards that region, poking our heads into the odd church including San Bernado (3rd century dome with 15th century marble facia/facelift), and Santa Maria degli Angeli (looks tiny and very old from the outside, with a domed vestibule and a massive nave and body proper). The fellas were suitably impressed.
[Pics to come]
We found some brunch and coffees to supplement our light breakfast provided at the hotel, and sat to eat it overlooking the Piazza del Colosseo.
From my architecture studies, and visits to Rome some **cough**twenty-five**cough** years ago, I knew that one of the reasons the Colosseum still stood is that it was made partly from concrete (as was the Pantheon). The technology was known to the Greeks, who did nothing much with it, but was lost sometime around the fall of the Roman Empire (I think). The bits that could be pilfered were, and I overheard one tour guide explaining that many twelfth century houses were made from third century bricks excavated from the Colosseum.
Access around the Roman Forum region is much more restricted than when I was last here, and there were squoodles more people. (Admittedly, my previous trips were in winter, when only Antipodeans travelling in their summer are daft enough to come.)
[Pics to come]
The boys coped well in the heat (high twenties, somewhat sticky), and lasted until late afternoon with occasional bribes of food, hot chocolate/coffee, and gelati. All three have decided to revisit Assassin's Creed, so they can once again scramble and leap over various Roman monuments, now that they've seen them in the flesh.
We're back at the B&B, for a late siesta type thing, and to rest our sore feet and legs, before setting out for dinner in a few hours.
Edited to add: Dinner was very good, at a Sardinian seafood restaurant just around the corner. From fresh sardines and half a dozen other dishes as entree/antipasti, to a magnificent seafood risotto (mussels, clams, baby crustacea like a 4" long lobster) and sliced tuna salad. Ky ordered a seafood marinara, and then flaked out halfway thru' declaring that he no longer liked seafood. Unfortunately we were too full from the delightful antipasti to possibly finish his as well as ours.
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