Before some of you think, "she is such a dork..." - Europeans really call it 'Roman Holiday' when they take a trip to Rome. We find it kinda funny too. More than once, we were told by other tourists that they were visiting for a few days 'on Roman Holiday' or were asked if we were there 'on Roman Holiday.' I wonder if it's called 'Parisian Holiday' when they go to Paris....we'll probably never know. Anyway...
...Daniel has dreamed of seeing the Colosseum and the ruins of Pompeii since childhood. We decided it would be now or most likely never given the drastic difference in cost since here we're just a 2.5 hour plane ride away. We planned the trip for when Mom would be here since she had offered to let us go and leave the Peanut Gallery with her. That means that this blog wont have much comedy for you, but it sure made it an easier trip for us! Thanks, Mom.
Our trip started on Wednesday morning. Mom and the boys drove us to the bus stop in Galway and we went on to Dublin. We took the zig-zag route - 2hour drive in 4 hours. So glad to have a very good sleeper!We flew from Dublin to Rome, stopped at the train station to buy our tickets to Naples for the next morning, and got to our hotel late in the evening.
Daniel left me and Moriah in the hotel room to go out and find food. If you know Daniel's eating habits, you're probably staring, shocked as I was, to see what he brought back!! Yes, it was a mistake. He tried to order 'sausage and mushroom' and had not opened the box to verify. Oh yea, we're in Italy now...working with a bit of a language barrier.The pizza was actually quite good (Daniel picked off the "tree" before eating his part).
Thursday morning, we were up early to walk to Termini Station to catch the train to Naples on our way to see Pompeii. In our train car, we met some fellow tourists - a couple from China with a teenage daughter and a couple from Chile with a 2yr/old daughter (they are living in England for 6 months and taking advantage of their situation like us). Moriah lacked no attention on the 3hr train ride. Since we were all headed for Pompeii, we stuck together in Naples to find the local train connection to Pompeii Scavi (the ruins of Pompeii).
About to walk into ancient history
The city of Pompeii was founded at the end of the 7th century BC. It was buried under ash and rock when Mt Vesuvius suddenly errupted on August 24, 79 AD. It was rediscovered accidentally in the 16th century and exploration began in 1748. As of today, about 75% of the buried city has been excavated.
Entering through the city walls on original road - the Romans invented the formula for concrete and used it as the grout between huge boulders seen here for paving roads. They've stood the test of time ~ 2,500 years so far.
The Basilica - not a Christian church building as we would use the term. It was built in the 2nd cent BC and was a place used for administering justice and for business negotiations.
Building of Eumachia - a market place. Decorated white marble frames the entrance.
The Temple of Jupiter on the left sits at one end of the Forum. Mt Vesuvius behind.
Dogs were part of family life in Pompeii much as they are in our culture. There are still many dogs who live at the ruins. They are homeless, though cared for at the site, and are up for adoption. The dogs are named in the brochure - the white one is Plautus.
Arch built in honor of the Emperor Augustus, once covered in marble.
Wall murals and paintings are preserved in museums, but painted walls can still be seen. 
A large house with mosaic floor and a pool beneath an opening in the roof for collecting rain water.
Indoor garden in a house
Mosaic floor at the entrance of a house. It says in Latin, "beware of the dog."
The sidewalks (here repaired using authentic materials) are raised above the street level.
A small indoor garden with mural and mosaic fountain.
Tomb markers in a necropolis (more in the following pictures).
Outside the city wall.
We walked back up to current ground level behind the city...
...and walked along overlooking the ruins.
Mt Vesuvius
Tracks worn by chariot wheels. There were many "crosswalks" of raised boulders like the one here.
Pompeii had aquaducts that carried fresh spring water to the city for indoor plumbing and beautiful fountains. Troughs like this along the streets provided water for the horses.
Water pipes that ran under the sidewalks can be seen in a few places.
Small Theatre built around 80 BC and originally had a roof.
Ahead to the right, two-story Lupanare.
From one end of the Forum, the edges of buildings surrounding it from left to right: Apollo's Temple, Mensa Ponderaria (public office to control weights and measures), Forum Granary, Temple of Jupiter, Arch of Augustus, and the Macellum (the main market).
In the Forum with Mt Vesuvius in the background.
Inside Apollo's Temple - 6th cent BC. The statue on the right is the Roman mythological god Apollo as an archer...
...his twin sister, the goddess Diana, is across from him and was also holding a bow.
Structures outside the city wall
What's left of the mural on the outside of the city wall
Same gate we entered - the Porta Marina (this road led to the sea). To the left, the Suburban Baths positioned to overlook the sea.After leaving the ruins, we took the train back to Naples and went to the Archaeological Museum to see many of the artifacts and paintings from Pompeii. The taxi rides to and from the museum were very memorable! We took the train back to Rome after a full and unforgetable day.
Pompeii Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0OFU4g8T4w
We got back late, so Daniel ran out for pizza again. This time he got what he meant to order!
Friday, we woke up to snow! Turns out Rome hasn't gotten snow like this is 24 years! This is the train station - we were looking for the 'Hop-on-hop-off' tour bus to see the sights Rome. We found it - rather, it found us - and the salesman walked us down the street to the ticket office. On the way, Daniel's tennis shoes got totally soaked in the deep slush - not a good way to start a day of outdoor sightseeing. The first bus that came by was full, so we went into a little coffee shop to warm up and wait. While there, we met a group of young people from a church in Kentucky on their way to Ethiopia on a missions trip. They had a 16hr layover in Rome and were trying to see what they could. They had tickets for a different tour bus - after about half an hour, they were told that the bus comany had cancelled tours for the day, so they set out on foot. Our bus did come after a while; we hopped on for a short ride, and hopped off at the Colosseum.
In its day, it was called the Flavian Amphitheater. Begun around AD 72 by the Emperor Vespasian, it was built by slaves in just 8 years. Finished in AD 80, Emperor Titus's opening ceremonies lasted one hundred days and cost the lives of some 5000 wild animals, not to mention the gladiators (who were prisoners and slaves) whose lives meant no more than free entertainment to the blood-thirsty crowd. There was no admission fee, but seating for up to 75,000 spectators in the four levels was reserved based on class.
Proof he was there. Just out of the picture to the right, a group of teenagers was having a huge snowball fight!
Next to the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine erected by the Senate and people of Rome in 312 AD to honor the emperor.
The ruins of the Roman Forum seen from the Colosseum.
The Colosseum, which is open 365 days a year, was closed due to the weather - does the 'luck of the Irish' mean bad luck??
I stuck the camera through the bars in the gate to see what I could of the inside.
We walked around the outside, trying to imagine how it looked when the whole outer ring was intact and the entire thing covered in white marble inside and out. In the middle ages, it was used as a quary for building materials and was stripped of tons of marble and brick hence the condition it is in today.
Since we couldn't go in, we were ready to move on to the next stop on our list. We walked back up to the tour bus stop and waited...and waited...and waited. We were cold and wet and not dressed for the weather. The busses normally come every 20 minutes - they said it'd be 40 today due to the road conditions. After an hour, we took out the brochure and called the office. Bus service had been cancelled. We hailed a taxi and returned to the train station. 
Walking back to our hotel, I figured I should at least take advantage of the situation and get a picture of Rome that few other visitors have - snow on the scooters.
Back at the hotel, Moriah was very happy to be able to get out of the carrier and roll around on the bed - (seen here through the condensation on the camera lense).
We decided that I should stay in our room with Moriah, so Daniel went solo the rest of the afternoon. This is Colonna Traiana (Trajan's Column), erected in honor of Emperor Trajan and depicting in carved stone spiralling up the column, his victories at war.
Behind the Column, the ruins of Trajan's Forum.
Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II. Built from 1911 - 1935 to honor the first king of unified Italy, Victor Emmanuel II, who ruled Italy from 1861 until his death in 1878. The statues on the top of the building are ~ 35ft tall!
Bernini's Elephant Obelisk. Carved in 1667, the elephant carries on its back a small 6th cent BC Egyptian obelisk. Apparently, it jokingly represents Hannibal's elephants which carried tall siege towers across the Alps when they came to attack the Roman Empire in 218 BC and failed.
The Pantheon, built to honor the many Olympian gods, is the best-preserved of all the Roman temples. The present temple was built during the reign of Hadrian (AD118-125) in place of an earlier temple built by Marcus Agrippa (different from Herod Agrippa in the book of Acts) which had been destroyed by fire in AD80. In 1520, at his own request, the artist Raphael was buried inside.At this point in writing this blog (I hadn't even done most of Pompeii yet), I got lost on a 3 hour rabbit trail while 'researching' on the internet. The history of the Roman Empire is a complex weave of events and places and people who each have several names... From this point on, in the interest of getting this done and posted, I'll keep the captions simple.
Proving he was there.
Palazzo Montecitorio - 17th cent
Daniel's destination goal for the afternoon - the Column of Marcus Aurelius, of the movie Gladiator fame.
Carving in the column depicting his conquests.
The Trevi Fountain - built in 1736 on the site of an ancient one, it uses water from an aqueduct that is over 2,000 years old.Daniel came back to his two girls taking naps, then we went to a little Italian restaurant for supper. Not the day we imagined, but there's always tomorrow - and we hoped it would not include more snow!
Our hotel.
Breakfast was served on the top floor. Had it been warm, we would have enjoyed eating out on this belcony overlooking the city street.
Saturday, we awoke to a gorgeous, sunny day!
We decided to skip the bus today and walk instead.
An archeological dig site.
All this is under the current street level.
A statue decorating the outside of the Campidoglio on the Capitoline Hill - one of the Seven Hills of Rome from the time of the city's founding. The current palace and buildings surrounding the square were designed by Michaelangelo. (I seem to have deleated my picture of the palace itself- oops.)
Statue depicting the mythological founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of the war god Mars who were abandoned then saved and nursed by a wolf...wierd
Passing the ruins of the Forum.
We were good sports when grabbed by this Roman soldier and commanded to pose for and take these pictures. We are the two worst actors ever and it shows.
You are now free to think, "she is such a dork..." but at least I tried to get into character.
Colosseum, take 2...
...and we're in!
The only seats that remain.
Snow left over from yesterday.
Underground network of holding cells for people and animals before being sent up to the arena floor which once covered this.
Ten years ago, this partial reconstruction of the wooden floor was built to make it easier for visitors to imagine how the arena looked.
Now we were on the second of four levels - the highest visitors can go up.
Thinking of all the early Chrisians martyred here, we were reminded of Jesus' words recorded in Mark 8:34-36, "If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul?"
For these Christians, denying Christ would have meant they kept their earthly life, and losing their life for Christ's sake was literal.
Overwhelmed by our thoughts, we left the Colosseum to meet back up with the tour group to go see the ruins of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
We have no idea what we're looking at. This man seemed to belong to a group of normally-dressed men. Maybe a cruel bachelor party stunt??? At any rate, we had to document it - I just snapped a picture while holding the camera by my hip while walking past him. Others were more bold - like that guy on the left.
Entering the ruins of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
The Palatine Hill is where Rome began as a few huts sometime around 753BC and became the site of the Imperial palaces and residences of the Roman Emperors. The term 'palace' comes from the name Palatine.
The arch on the right is a part of one of the ancient aquaducts. This one is obviously not functional anymore, but a couple of them are (remember the Trevi Fountain) and still bring fresh spring water to the city from up to 40 miles away.
Palace of Domitian, the stadium
Boulders and concrete grout=original ancient Roman road. Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Brutus, Caesar Augustus, Livia, Julia (you get the idea) lived here and walked on these very stones.
From the Palatine Hill looking down on the Forum - the upper class lived in houses on the hillside. The Arch of Titus in the upper right was built to celebrate the triumph of the Emperor for the conquest of Jerusalem in 70AD.
Botanical garden built in the 1500's over the ruins of Tiberius's palace.
In the center, the Temple of Divus Romulus (now debated). In any case, the large bronze door is original, a mere 1,700 or so years old.
The columns on the right belong to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, one of the "newer" buildings from the 2nd cent AD. The arch on the far left is the Arch of Septimius Severus built in 202AD.
Ancient Rome even had a contained sewage system - seriously
The Curio, where the Senate met, is still intact. According to scholars, the front steps of this building is the probable location of Julius Caesar's assassination.
The Curio
The Basilica Julia
Arch of Septimius Severus close up of the carvings
Santi Luca e Martina, a Roman church commissioned in 625.
Carcere Mamertinum - where the Apostles Paul and Peter were imprisoned .
The original part is now below ground level.
Now it was time to head to the train station to go home, but we had to eat some gelato - Italian ice cream - before we left.
Rome is a place where it would be smart to have a Smart Car. Minneapolis - we're not convinced..
Our hotel.
Breakfast was served on the top floor. Had it been warm, we would have enjoyed eating out on this belcony overlooking the city street.
Saturday, we awoke to a gorgeous, sunny day!
We decided to skip the bus today and walk instead.
An archeological dig site.
All this is under the current street level.
A statue decorating the outside of the Campidoglio on the Capitoline Hill - one of the Seven Hills of Rome from the time of the city's founding. The current palace and buildings surrounding the square were designed by Michaelangelo. (I seem to have deleated my picture of the palace itself- oops.)
Statue depicting the mythological founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of the war god Mars who were abandoned then saved and nursed by a wolf...wierd
Passing the ruins of the Forum.
We were good sports when grabbed by this Roman soldier and commanded to pose for and take these pictures. We are the two worst actors ever and it shows.
You are now free to think, "she is such a dork..." but at least I tried to get into character.
Colosseum, take 2...
...and we're in!
The only seats that remain.
Snow left over from yesterday.
Underground network of holding cells for people and animals before being sent up to the arena floor which once covered this.
Ten years ago, this partial reconstruction of the wooden floor was built to make it easier for visitors to imagine how the arena looked.
Now we were on the second of four levels - the highest visitors can go up.
Thinking of all the early Chrisians martyred here, we were reminded of Jesus' words recorded in Mark 8:34-36, "If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul?"For these Christians, denying Christ would have meant they kept their earthly life, and losing their life for Christ's sake was literal.
Overwhelmed by our thoughts, we left the Colosseum to meet back up with the tour group to go see the ruins of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
We have no idea what we're looking at. This man seemed to belong to a group of normally-dressed men. Maybe a cruel bachelor party stunt??? At any rate, we had to document it - I just snapped a picture while holding the camera by my hip while walking past him. Others were more bold - like that guy on the left.
Entering the ruins of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
The Palatine Hill is where Rome began as a few huts sometime around 753BC and became the site of the Imperial palaces and residences of the Roman Emperors. The term 'palace' comes from the name Palatine.
The arch on the right is a part of one of the ancient aquaducts. This one is obviously not functional anymore, but a couple of them are (remember the Trevi Fountain) and still bring fresh spring water to the city from up to 40 miles away.
Palace of Domitian, the stadium
Boulders and concrete grout=original ancient Roman road. Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Brutus, Caesar Augustus, Livia, Julia (you get the idea) lived here and walked on these very stones.
From the Palatine Hill looking down on the Forum - the upper class lived in houses on the hillside. The Arch of Titus in the upper right was built to celebrate the triumph of the Emperor for the conquest of Jerusalem in 70AD.
Botanical garden built in the 1500's over the ruins of Tiberius's palace.
In the center, the Temple of Divus Romulus (now debated). In any case, the large bronze door is original, a mere 1,700 or so years old.
The columns on the right belong to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, one of the "newer" buildings from the 2nd cent AD. The arch on the far left is the Arch of Septimius Severus built in 202AD.
Ancient Rome even had a contained sewage system - seriously
The Curio, where the Senate met, is still intact. According to scholars, the front steps of this building is the probable location of Julius Caesar's assassination.
The Curio
The Basilica Julia
Arch of Septimius Severus close up of the carvings
Santi Luca e Martina, a Roman church commissioned in 625.
Carcere Mamertinum - where the Apostles Paul and Peter were imprisoned .
The original part is now below ground level.
Now it was time to head to the train station to go home, but we had to eat some gelato - Italian ice cream - before we left.
Rome Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A6mXf7cZ1o
Rome is a place where it would be smart to have a Smart Car. Minneapolis - we're not convinced.. 
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