Ahhhh, Friday night in Rome and we have just returned from a street side cafe.  We had fettuccini bolognese, wine, dessert and listened to the sounds of Roma.  Kate bought a watercolor of the Capital from a street vender walking by.  An African man on the street gave Doug a turtle for good luck.  We will miss Roma.

We began our day with an espresso while gazing out our apartment window at St. Peters and then took a taxi to the Colosseum.  Getting out of the taxi we stood in front of the Constantine Arch and appreciated it's great beauty and the meaning behind it.  It represents the Roman Empire becoming a Christian nation.  There were crowds everywhere.  The lines were incredibly long both for tickets and to get into the Colosseum itself.  I was trying to figure out how we were going to make this work before Doug got to hot and tired, when a guide walked up to us and told us people with disabilities may enter with their families and that we would not have to wait in line.  I was so grateful.

Doug loved the Colosseum. He loved the opportunity to be in a place he had only read about.  There was an elevator to take us to the third floor.  We gazed out over the ruins, seeing where gladiators had fought animals and other men.  We imagined how elevators had lifted the animals on to the arena floor.  We read in our Rick Steves' book how the gladiators would ask Caesar if the person should be allowed to live or die, thumbs up or down.  Funny, people today continue to have a fascination with others dying.  Think of all the TV shows with  this theme.  The drama at the Colloseum lasting over 500 years may have been the beginning of reality TV.

Then "a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum".  Doug's battery died.  I did not realize he had not charged it the night before.  I had to push the electric chair all the way to the Capital to get a taxi.  Thankfully we made it with the help of Mary Lou.  We go back to our apartment a little earlier than expected.  Me a little sweatier than expected!  We grabbed some lunch from the restaurant down the street and took a nap, at the classic Roman time, 3:00 pm.

After some recharging (for ourselves and the battery) we caught another taxi with Mary Lou and Kate and went back to the Forum.  Even though Rick Steves assured us it would be open till sundown, it was not.  No worry.  We strolled along the sidewalks overlooking the Forum and looked down into the ancient Roman remains.  It was still very impressive and interesting to ponder life so long ago.  So much is different, yet so much the same.

After a short taxi ride home, we sit writing the blog, looking up at St. Peter's one more time and listening to the sounds below.  In the morning we leave for our cruise. The driver will pick us up at at 11:00 and we will board the ship at 3:00.  We anticipate about an hours drive to the ship.  The next leg of the journey is about to begin.

Message for the day: Be thankful for all that is given us.