Rome Day Two: Coliseum / Trevi Fountain / Pantheon

"Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does; when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome; when Rome falls, so will the world."

~Venerable Bede

Day two in Rome was absolutely surreal. I remember learning about the colosseum and gladiators back in Elementary School, and I am so lucky to get to see those textbook pictures in real life! (Thanks Mom & Dad!) It is so easy to learn about the world's history and think of it as a bunch of stories, because it is so unlike anything that would happen today. I stepped inside the colosseum, and could imagine the crowds screaming, and the gladiators walking out to face one another. I felt myself transported back through time, and even though I had learned about the colosseum for years: this was the first time I really understood it. This is why traveling is so important. It is the only way we can come close to experiencing ancient history and making our own history!

Saturday morning started off right with some cream-filled baguettes and cappuccinos from our hostel breakfast! YUM!

We headed to get our tickets for the Coliseum as soon as the boys woke up! Ticket lines are crazy long to get in, so the earlier you can go, the better!

Pro Tip: The tickets include both access to the Coliseum and Palantine, so buy your Coliseum ticket at the Palantine, the line is WAY shorter! Google saved us about an hour thanks to this shortcut!

Once we got our ticket, we waited in a line to get into the Coliseum, and snuck out of place to get some pictures!

The whole time we were standing in line, people kept walking by trying to sell us selfie sticks! When they asked us, we would respond by saying sentences in different languages from our choir songs! "Mungo Ni Pan Do, Ba Ba Weh Tu!" Definitely threw them off!

We entered the Coliseum, and were immediately blown away!

Begun by Vespasian in AD 70, the Colosseum was completed and dedicated by his son Titus in AD 80 with games that lasted 100 days. Titus was a well loved ruler who helped to rebuild the city of Pompeii, and was easily persuaded by his people.

The Colosseum had seating for more than 50,000 spectators, who were arranged according to social ranking but were most likely packed into the space till full capacity!

Some gladiators fought for the fame and honor, while others fought for their freedom. Slaves and criminals could get a chance to win back their freedoms in the arena. Skilled fighters might win a good deal of money and the wooden sword that symbolized their freedom. Freed gladiators could continue to fight for money, but they often became trainers in the gladiatorial schools or bodyguards for the rich. The majority of the gladiators who fought in front of Colosseum audiences in Ancient Rome were men, though there were some female gladiators!

Our view from the bottom of the Coliseum, we were able to see a maze that they used to have gladiators fight in. They would each start each gladiator at an end, and eventually they'd meet in the middle for a blood bath. Sometimes, they would put a lion or wild animal in with them as well. One thing that I didn't realize about the games is that the audience would determine what would happen to the winner of the fight. They could choose to hail the winner and save him, or if he was greatly disliked and didn't fight fairly, they could kill them.

Panorama from the top! The game masters would come up with different ideas for each event. Sometimes they would release wild animals, execute tons of prisoners, and one master even flooded the bottom and had ship wars!

You can see ruins from where the people of high power and wealth would sit during the games.

Suzanne Collins actually came up with her idea for "The Hunger Games" by flipping through TV channels and coming across a documentary on gladiators! Really doesn't seem that far off when you hear about the stories of what went on here.

A game would last all day. The games would start with a chariot procession lead by the game master. The afternoon would consist of executions of criminals. Fun fact: Christians would be executed because they didn't follow the emperor's religion and had to go against the state! You could be executed for almost anything back in the day, guess they weren't all the "good old days!" The end of the games would include the most famous event, the "Gladiator Wars!"

Our group in Rome!

Definitely a less intense way to wear gladiator sandals!

Next, we headed over to Palantine Hill! The hill is in one of the oldest parts of Rome, and contains ruins of Augustus Imperial palaces! Augustus built a temple to Apollo on top of the hill, and excavations have found that the original part of the city was founded here in about 10 BC!

"Off with your head.. dance dance dance till you're dead!" These statues were all decapitated...

Some fall in love in Rome, others get ruined by it!

After Palantine Hill and the Colosseum, we headed out to Trevi fountain so we could wish for better fortunes than the gladiators or those beheaded statues!

Would tell you what I wished for... but then I wouldn't get tacos!

Throwing in my coin!

When there is a gelato place next to the Trevi fountain, how Italian can you be?

Legend has it that in 19 BC Roman soldiers were guided by a girl to the source of pure water in Rome. This fountain was constructed in 1762 in this legendary spot. Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world! We saw a couple get engaged there right when we threw in our coins, how magical!

Next stop, Pantheon!

One of the best preserved buildings in Rome, the Pantheon is from 118–128 AD! The building was used as a temple to the Gods in Italy, and is now a a church!

A peek inside the church, we weren't allowed in but got a look!

On the way back we noticed a nearby church had a man playing a free trumpet concert inside, so we rested our feet and listened to a few songs! He was so talented!

Arches we passed on our way to get noodles!

I love all of the plants on the buildings here!

ITALIAN NOODLES!

The perfect end to a perfect, packed, two days in Rome! We caught our flight at 7 am the next morning, and were able to see everything on our bucket lists! Definitely coming back here with my family some day! Ciao!