Italy Vacation (part one)

http://erickson-family.net/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=2221 for pictures. Only Rome pictures have been posted so far, there are more to come...

Rome is an incredible city. Bat-shit insane, but amazing.

Rome is ancient and modern at the same time, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. How can I describe this? The old part of the city, where our apartment was located, was designed a thousand years before the invention of cars. There are almost no sidewalks, so all the doors open right into the street. (look at the via della lupa picture in the "apartment" album. That's a STREET. Not a sidewalk, not an alley, that is a STREET! Try to imagine walking down that street while a car is going through, and motorini (a cross between motorcycle and moped) are whizzing around from both directions.) I almost got run-over trying to get from the taxicab to the front door. But the newer sections of Rome were designed with cars in mind, so there are sidewalks, subway systems, and traffic lights. It's just a weird juxtaposition of old and new. In the span of 2 minutes, I saw a tour bus, a car, a "smart car" (which is about 1/4 the size of my Neon), a horse-drawn carriage, a motorcycle, and an old man on a bike, all driving along the same street. (which is of course packed with pedestrians. Look at the picture titled "Kevin and Paul on the Spanish Steps." See the road in the background? Imagine trying to drive on that road...I can't get over this)

Enough blathering about the roads though, I'll try to highlight a few of the sites and sights of Rome.

My favorite site was the Palatine Hill. This is where Rome was founded, and where the ancient emperors and rulers of Rome built their houses and palaces.
*Neat side note, this is location of the Romulus and Remus story. see http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa121002a.htm for a brief over overview of the legend*
Anyway, the palace are only ruins now, but the hill itself is still beautiful and majestic. Looking out over the city of Rome from the top of the hill made me feel like a king myself. Near the hill itself is the circus maximus (chariot racing), the ancient forum (the heart of the city) and the via sacra (sacred road). The via sacra was awe-inspiring to me in the year 2000, but I can imagine how overwhelming it must have been when the buildings were all still newly built and imposing. Victorious Roman armies would march down this road, and triumphal arches were constructed to commemorate key victories. (eighth picture in the "palatine hills" album)

The via sacra leads to the colosseum, which is cool enough to merit its own paragraph. The colosseum has suffered some destruction due to earthquakes and stone-thieves, but it is remarkably well preserved for such an ancient structure. Everyone has heard about the fighting and the gladiators, but I would like to put that into a little context. This is the story (as much as I can remember of it anyway) that the tour guide told us: Imagine you are a poor Roman farmer. You have never travelled outside of Rome, and most of the world is still unknown. Seeing an animal like a lion or tiger or elephant is incredible to you, it seems impossible that such monsters can exist. And then to watch the gladiators, the movie stars/celebrities of ancient Rome, battle these monsters and each other in an epic fight, this would seem beyond all comprehension. These were indeed spectacular fights in ancient Rome. In the modern day, this would be like watching Batman and Superman fighting super-villains and aliens from mars. In other words, the colosseum is like modern day cinema, but come to life.

I'll type some more tomorrow, but I can't finish this post without mentioning the contradictory elements of new and old Rome mixed together. There is a major road that curves near the colosseum. It is very odd to watch modern cars and motorcycles speeding around such an ancient building. Such is Rome.