Rome

Rome is a pretty amazing city and was nothing like what I was expecting. I had heard it would be dirty, offensive, and dangerous. Instead, it was dirty, offensive, and quite safe. Once you get used to the crazy traffic anyway, and having been weaned on the streets of southeast Asia, I found it manageable.

On my first day, I made my way through the ancient city. The Colosseum, Palantine Hill, the Roman Forum. These were my playgrounds of the day, and to be honest, they were a little underwhelming. I'm aware that the hype for some of these things, like the Mona Lisa, can make it a little disappointing when you see them in real life, but I can't help it. The ruins have been allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair over time that what's left is a pale shadow of what once was.

Take the Colosseum: it's walls are crumbling and pockmarked with holes that once contained metal supports. After the gladitorial games ended, the Colosseum saw new use as a residence for a noble family, animal pens, a marketplace, among others. Finally, it was used as a source of raw materials for new buildings. That's the reason why a large portion of the outer wall is missing; it was cannibalized. That being said, it's still an engineering marvel. It is a stadium designed to hold 60,000 people and built thanks to the invention of concrete.

Palantine Hill, the first site of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, and the residence of many rulers, has even less than ruins. All that's left are bare footprints of what once were buildings. Bare brick columns rise from the ground that used to be covered with marble, but like the Colosseum, was recycled. The guides just point at things and say, imagine how this used to be back when it was great. For example, the toe of a statue is all that is left on the ground, but they ask you to imagine a 12 foot statue that would fit it. The Roman forum was not much better, with only a temple left somewhat intact and the rest footprints as well, with the exception of several columns still standing here and there. Well, pictures will show it better when I can get around to a picture post.

But no time now, Vatican City is tomorrow, and that's going to be awesome and lengthy.