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Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome
February 5th 2013
Published: February 5th 2013
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I am thankful that I grew up in a city (Boston) and learned to use the infamous 'T' at quite an early age. So tackling the bus, tram, and train systems of Rome seemed completely doable. First smart thing I did was to buy a Roma Pass for 30 euros (and worth every penny). This gets you free public transportation for three days so you don't have to mess with the machines that somehow never seem to work or else you don't have the right change. All you do is wave your card in front of the entrance machines at each train station and it reads a code and "tada!" the gates to the station open and you are in. I never even used it on the bus. I just showed the driver my card and he gave me a bored look so I sat down. I noticed that few people even have a ticket on the buses. I'd say only about 5%!o(MISSING)f the riders (mostly tourists) bother to validate their bus cards. The rest just get on, grab a seat, and ride. There is supposed to be a huge fine if you get caught without having your ticket validated but it seems to be pretty much ignored. So I rode for my 3 days and then today I thought, well what the heck, see if it still works, and like magic I was in.

The bus system is very involved. Standing at a major bus intersection is like watching a bus ballet. They come and go in every direction, criss crossing the city at rapid rates of speed. I don't know how they navigate the narrow streets that are lined on both sides with cars parked in every which way. but somehow they manage. There is little honking of horns and no impatient yelling. If a delivery truck is in the way the driver just waits till it moves. I was pleased to see that often Romans still need to ask the driver where a particular bus goes. I figured out that Bus 81, which I could get at the bottom of my street, pretty much took you all around the city. I had several 45 minute tours confident that eventually it would end up back near my street. Well, one time it stopped, the driver got his bags and lunch and left the bus. Everyone got off. Hmmmmmm, I've had this happen before. Finally, I got off and asked another driver if it was going back to St. Peter's. "Si, si" he answered. It was still bus 81 but it did an entirely different route and with a new driver More free sightseeing for me. The train system is even easier as there are only two line 'A' (which is red) and 'B' (which is blue). The lines intersect at Termini, which is the main train station. Even a child could figure this out as I did with no problems.

The pass gets you into several museums free and then gives you a discount at others. I read that there was a special line for the Roma Pass users at the Colesseum. I decided to check it out. Remember this is February. It is cold, windy, and rainy. You would expect the place to be deserted. But no, the line was circled 3/4 of the way around the place. All I could think of was how miserable it must be 'in season' when you have to deal with the crowds AND the heat! I showed my pass to a worker and he pointed me to an empty aisle. I must have looked a bit incredulous but he motioned for me to go on in. And so I did, sailing right by the hundreds waiting in line to buy a ticket all the way up to a turnstyle where a young woman took my Roma Pass, pressed it against a machine, and just like that I was in the Colesseum. I was momentarily stunned. Here I was in the iconic structure that I'd heard and read about since I was 10 or 11 years old. It actually exists. It is way bigger than the little picture in my 7th grade Latin book.

Here are some important but sort of boring facts: It was begun in 72 AD by the Emperor Vespasian. It was built on the site of Nero's palace, actually one of his filled in fish ponds, to try to get people to forget about Nero's tyrannical and crazy reign. It could seat 55,000 who were seated according to rank. Different columns were used on each level: the bottom were Doric, the middle were Ionic, and up towards the top were Corinthian.

Things I didn't know: During its 'heyday' admission was free. Women were allowed in but unless they were nobility they had to stand on the highest level. The arena floor covered a network of hoists, pulleys, and even 'elevators' to transport the animals to the surface. The 'velarium' was a huge sailcloth awning that sheltered spectators from the sun. It was supported by poles on the upper story. A specially trained group of sailors, using a sytem of pulleys, beams, and canvas created a retractable roof (think Astrodome). Criminal, slaves, and gladiators fought each other. Women and dwarfs also wrestled and mock sea battles were waged (the arena could be flooded via underground pipes). Spectators could exercise the power of life by waving handkerchiefs to show mercy, or by displaying a down-turned thumb to demand death. Vomitoria- which I always associated with, well, vomit, actually meant exterior exits and entrances.

So if you only have time for one or two things in Rome the Colesseum should be one of them and the Sistine Chapel. But they both are tied, in my opinion, with the Pantheon. "Simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime." is how Lord Byron, the poet, described the Pantheon. The bronze entrance doors are the originals, over 1,800 years old and weighing 20 tons each. It was built and designed by the Emperor Hadrian from AD118-128. Now imagine this...it was the world's largest dome (until 1882) with a diameter of 182 feet- equal to its height from the floor. Weight and stresses were reduced by rows of coffering in the ceiling, and the use of progressively lighter materials from the base to the crown. The central 'oculus' is 29 feet in diameter and remains open. It is the only source of light (and, yes, it lets rain in). The roof is made of poured concrete (a Roman invention) composed of light pumice stone, and the weight of it doesn't bear down but is distributed by brick arches embedded sideways into the walls and channeled into a ring around the 'lip' of the oculus. It helps that the walls are 25 feet thick. Oh, as if all that isn't enough, the tomb of Raphael is here as are those of several Italian kings.

I read that every year on Pentecost, the 50th day after Easter, hundreds of thousands of red rose petals are dropped through the oculus commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire. I don't think it can rival the 'explosion of the cart, in front of the Duomo on Easter Sunday in Florence but it still must be something to witness.

I will try to write a 'wrap up' blog of some of the other things I happened upon, sometimes I had no plan I just walked around and something spectacular appeared in front of my eyes, when I return home. I leave early tomorrow morning and will have a very long and full day of travel so it may be a few days before I can even think straight.

I have loved your comments and notes from so many of you. It brightens day and warms my heart. Being alone on this trip has been fine but at times, a bit too quiet. Thanks for coming along.

Carolyn

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5th February 2013

A city girl at heart
Bigger than the picture in your 7th grade latin book....indeed. After we finished exploring the Colesseum we went across the street and sat in a cafe for a few hours watching people go by and enjoying the amazing structure. We could not take our eyes off of it. Amazing it can still be standing. Travel is grand.
5th February 2013

Welcome Back!
It was so fun reading that a veteran traveler like you approaches famous big cities just like we do -- we call it "rambling". You never know what you will discover, and you just trust local transportation to eventually return you. Many miles on our shoes, but there's always a bar nearby when needed! Thanks, once again, for bringing us along with you. Hated thinking of you all alone, though.
5th February 2013

Farewell to Rome
Hi Carolyn...sharing your adventures has been entertaining and educational. Thank you for all the blogs! I hope you have smooth sailing all the way home. Love, Pat
5th February 2013

Thanks
Thanks for including me in your blog. I wish I could have been there. :)
11th February 2013

Enjoyed your Trip Vicarioussly!
Proud of you, Carolyn~~~~~~Wish I could have been with you in PERSON! Love, Bev J.

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