As luck would have it, my friend Tracy had made plans to be in Rome at the same time that I would be there. She was coming in to spend the holidays with her brother and his family, and it turned out that we had overlapped for two days. So, we made plans to get together the afternoon that she landed and the next day.
I'd held off on going into any of the ruins in Rome until Tracy got there, thinking it would be fun to explore them together. I wasn't wrong. Tracy, like me, wanted to know the why and how of things, so she and I would poke and prod and work through different scenarios together until we had a working hypothesis on how different aspects of the ruins we came across might have been used. Call me kooky, but damn, that was fun. This also meant that we took a lot longer to go through different areas than the average person and ended up being rushed out of the Palatine Hill and Forums areas. Ah well. An excuse to come back another time.
We wandered aimlessly her first afternoon while I kept her awake to help acclimate her to the new timezone. In all honesty, I'm pretty sure she barely remembers much of that afternoon, but we saw some pretty cool stuff.
We walked around the city, goggling at the numerous spots where ancient ruins just sort of popped up.
We walked the Circus Massimo track, trying to figure out what the center aisle would have been used for and how the seating would have worked.
We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we got to see the changing of the guard, and then up on the giant monument so she could see the Forum ruins with the domes overlooking them.
The next day, we met up early and headed to the Coliseum. We spent a lot of time trying to work out what was from the various incarnations of the space.
From the amphitheater to a series of stables to a fortress to ruins again, the Coliseum's history is nothing like that of Pompeii, which lay completely untouched for nearly 2000 years. No, the Coliseum was massive and stood in the midst of a living, thriving, ongoing city structure. Abandoned by the Roman dictators of old it may be, but untouched it was not.
We took a break after exploring the amphitheater and went to lunch with her nephews at a market set off by the Tiber. Most of the shops were closed, and those few open held clothing, food, and leather goods. We grabbed lunch, hung out with the boys (they're 17 and 14), then they left and Tracy and I headed back to the ruins of Rome.
Entering Palatine Hill, we found a section that had once been baths. Here, we spent most of our time, trying to work out the different areas, pumps, drains, levels of flooring, etc. In short, we totally geeked out together on how it all would have worked.
We spent so much time here, however, that we ran out of time. During the winter season, things close down early as there is limited sunlight. So, we quickly walked through as much of the area as we could, though we missed most of the space. We headed to the forum, but it, too, had closed. A bit disappointing, but honestly, I really enjoyed the time we spent exploring the baths so I didn't mind it much.
Tracy had offered to take me out to dinner as a belated birthday celebration, but the ruins had been closed way too early to meet up with her niece and nephew for dinner. So, we headed over to a delightful restaurant covered in fairy lights with an outdoor seating area. We were set next to a flaming heater (these were ubiquitous throughout all of Barcelona, Naples, and Rome), and ordered an appetizer and wine.
In true Roman fashion, we dawdled over our wine and food, talking about life at home as well as in Rome. We ordered dessert and coffee, and again, relaxed into the space and time. It was lovely. The wind blew lightly, the lights above us swayed, and in the distance, the walls of the Coliseum kept us company. Magic.
We met up with the kids, and they took us to a lovely Italian restaurant where I got my first real Italian meal that wasn't pizza. The kids had been in Italy for over a year and a half, so they navigated getting the table in Italian, then helped Tracy and me order. We shared a bottle of wine, sampled brilliant pasta, and then wandered to a lovely gelato store where I got a cup of tiramisu.
I walked with Tracy and her niece and nephew back to their apartment, gave her a hug, and set off toward my hostel. Birthday Dinner Take Two had been an absolute delight.
I'd held off on going into any of the ruins in Rome until Tracy got there, thinking it would be fun to explore them together. I wasn't wrong. Tracy, like me, wanted to know the why and how of things, so she and I would poke and prod and work through different scenarios together until we had a working hypothesis on how different aspects of the ruins we came across might have been used. Call me kooky, but damn, that was fun. This also meant that we took a lot longer to go through different areas than the average person and ended up being rushed out of the Palatine Hill and Forums areas. Ah well. An excuse to come back another time.
We wandered aimlessly her first afternoon while I kept her awake to help acclimate her to the new timezone. In all honesty, I'm pretty sure she barely remembers much of that afternoon, but we saw some pretty cool stuff.
We walked around the city, goggling at the numerous spots where ancient ruins just sort of popped up.
We walked the Circus Massimo track, trying to figure out what the center aisle would have been used for and how the seating would have worked.
We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we got to see the changing of the guard, and then up on the giant monument so she could see the Forum ruins with the domes overlooking them.
The next day, we met up early and headed to the Coliseum. We spent a lot of time trying to work out what was from the various incarnations of the space.
From the amphitheater to a series of stables to a fortress to ruins again, the Coliseum's history is nothing like that of Pompeii, which lay completely untouched for nearly 2000 years. No, the Coliseum was massive and stood in the midst of a living, thriving, ongoing city structure. Abandoned by the Roman dictators of old it may be, but untouched it was not.
We took a break after exploring the amphitheater and went to lunch with her nephews at a market set off by the Tiber. Most of the shops were closed, and those few open held clothing, food, and leather goods. We grabbed lunch, hung out with the boys (they're 17 and 14), then they left and Tracy and I headed back to the ruins of Rome.
Entering Palatine Hill, we found a section that had once been baths. Here, we spent most of our time, trying to work out the different areas, pumps, drains, levels of flooring, etc. In short, we totally geeked out together on how it all would have worked.
We spent so much time here, however, that we ran out of time. During the winter season, things close down early as there is limited sunlight. So, we quickly walked through as much of the area as we could, though we missed most of the space. We headed to the forum, but it, too, had closed. A bit disappointing, but honestly, I really enjoyed the time we spent exploring the baths so I didn't mind it much.
Tracy had offered to take me out to dinner as a belated birthday celebration, but the ruins had been closed way too early to meet up with her niece and nephew for dinner. So, we headed over to a delightful restaurant covered in fairy lights with an outdoor seating area. We were set next to a flaming heater (these were ubiquitous throughout all of Barcelona, Naples, and Rome), and ordered an appetizer and wine.
In true Roman fashion, we dawdled over our wine and food, talking about life at home as well as in Rome. We ordered dessert and coffee, and again, relaxed into the space and time. It was lovely. The wind blew lightly, the lights above us swayed, and in the distance, the walls of the Coliseum kept us company. Magic.
We met up with the kids, and they took us to a lovely Italian restaurant where I got my first real Italian meal that wasn't pizza. The kids had been in Italy for over a year and a half, so they navigated getting the table in Italian, then helped Tracy and me order. We shared a bottle of wine, sampled brilliant pasta, and then wandered to a lovely gelato store where I got a cup of tiramisu.
I walked with Tracy and her niece and nephew back to their apartment, gave her a hug, and set off toward my hostel. Birthday Dinner Take Two had been an absolute delight.
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