why you should never trust the forecast {colosseum & NAC welcome dinner}
then i ran through Trastevere coming back, taking a little detour to see the outside of Santa Cecilia. i can't wait to see the inside! i passed several other joggers and bikers on the bike trail, but no other runners on the streets.
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| the steps toward home... (there's also a hill, but sometimes the steps are less daunting!) |
after a shower and a quick lunch, we plotted our route to the Colosseum. we hadn't done much research on the bus system yet and weren't sure where the most convenient place was to buy tickets (you can't buy them on the bus), so we decided to walk the 3 miles -- which happened to parallel my running route for part of the way. the forecast called for sunny skies until 5 pm. i thought about bringing our umbrella to use for a sunshade, then decided against it as i didn't want to pack the backpack too full. #foreshadowing
both girls fell asleep during our walk. we walked past the Mouth of Truth, then up around Circus Maximus, and past the entrance to the Palatine Hill. we then stopped to marvel at the Arch of Constantine, which stands next to the Colosseum, and memorializes Emperor Constantine's military victory over Maxentius in A.D. 312, when he declared Christianity legal throughout the empire.
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| Circus Maximus (with Palatine Hill to the left) |
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| entrance to the Palatine Hill |
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| Nick is walking underneath the arch, for scale (!!) |
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| first glimpse of the Colosseum (and the Arch of Constantine to the left) |
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| Arch of Constantine |
i had combed the reviews on TripAdvisor to determine the best way to buy tickets for the Colosseum (the Forum and Palatine Hill are also included in the ticket price). they offer timed tickets with a specific entry time, as well as "open" tickets that can be used any time after 2 pm, for the same price (€14 for adults, free for children under 18 - but a €2 euro fee is charged to book the "free" ticket for kids if you do it online). i opted to get the open tickets and book the girls' in advance. we did have to go to a ticket counter to pick them up since you have to show proof of age (in our case, they didn't ask for ID -- just seeing the girls was proof enough), but the line was much shorter than the line to buy tickets in general so i was very glad i had booked them in advance. and for anyone else planning to travel with kids, we had no problem bringing our stroller and backpack diaper bag in!
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| Greta had just woken up from her nap and was NOT in the picture-taking mood |
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| slowly waking up and inspecting our tickets |
as we walked through the gates to go through security, Nick noticed that each entrance arch was numbered, just like in our modern stadiums. we had just made it inside the building itself (still in line to go through security) when it started to rain. at first we were congratulating ourselves on our good fortune, and then it really started to pour. the poor people outside in line got drenched. many of them did have umbrellas with them, and the street hawkers swarmed up to the line and started selling ponchos right and left. by the time we made it through security and up to the upper level where the tour begins, the rain had stopped, and we were quite pleased with our luck.
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| entrance gate LIII ... or possibly LIIII (although that should be LIV!) |
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| poor unforunate souls, stuck out in the rain. well, what goes around comes around... |
seeing the Colosseum in person is awe-inspiring. it's just so vast. it is also sobering to think of how many people had lost their lives inside, while spectators cheered. the building itself is 160 feet high and a third of a mile around. our first viewpoint on the tour showed us the hypogeum, the underground network of tunnels that lay beneath the original wooden floor (which was then covered with sand).
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| ominous rain clouds gathering... |
we then proceeded to the second viewing point to hear more about the games from our audio guide. and at that moment, the rain came back with a vengeance. it poured for at least an hour. we scrambled to find some sort of shelter but there really wasn't much to be found. we pulled the canopy of the stroller all the way down over Greta and pulled the shade of the Ergo carrier over Cece's head. both were soaked through within minutes. a friendly Aussie couple shared their umbrella to keep the rain off Cece. we waited it out for about 20 minutes, assuming it would just blow over, but it showed no signs of stopping. Nick had to get back to the NAC for evening mass by 6 PM, so we decided to call it a day and ran out through the rain, made our way slowly through the masses of people huddled under the sheltered areas, and back out into the gale. after waiting for about 5 minutes at a busy intersection only to see dozens of full taxis go by, we figured we might as well walk in the direction we needed to go and flag down an empty taxi if we saw one. the girls were amazing through all of this. Greta kept saying she wanted to go home and wanted to get in a taxi, and as we assured her that that's what we were planning to do, she seemed to accept that. Cecilia was announcing the colors of all the cars that went past, and singing various nursery rhymes at the top of her lungs. (we put her sun hat back on her so at least the rain wasn't getting in her eyes.)
finally we spotted a little cafe and Nick suggested we stop in there to get a treat for the girls and see if the rain would slow down a bit. they each had a much-deserved donut and shared a glass of milk while we contemplated our options.
that's when one of us turned around (i can't remember who!) and realized we were steps away from a metro station. i ran down the steps to check out the situation and see if there was an automated ticket machine and lo and behold, there was! we bought tickets for Nick and myself at €1.50 each (kids under 10 ride free) and we were on our way, riding the B line to Termini and then connecting to the A line to Ottaviano. everything was surprisingly well-marked and easy to navigate -- it reminded me very much of the NYC subway system. we still had about a fifteen-minute walk home from Ottaviano, but the rain had mostly stopped. i had to take a selfie to commemorate our first public transit experience, melted mascara and all.
at home, we got all warmed up and dried off and the girls relaxed for an hour while Nick headed off to mass. then we met up again on the rooftop terrace of the college for a welcome dinner. the seminarians cooked! we had caprese salads, bucatini all'amatriciana (a Roman staple -- bucatini pasta smothered in a spicy sauce made with guanciale -- that's pork jowl), grilled sausages with peppers and onions, and finally, gelato with fresh fruit and little cookies. the girls loved it all except the spicy bucatini. we lingered over dinner as the sun set over St. Peter's, with red wine and a champagne toast to finish the evening.
we've met some wonderful priests here and i'm excited to get to know them better. we were seated with one of the priests on faculty who has been here for 9 years, as well as two new students and one returning. as we finally left around 9 pm, one of the new students we met yesterday came up to play with Greta and Cece. he was asking them for high-fives and then making hilarious sound effects, as they both laughed uproariously. he reminds me so much of their Uncle James! several of the new students have approached us over the past few days and said how glad they are that we are here, as they have nieces or younger siblings at home similar in age to our girls. there are several sisters working and studying here at the NAC as well, and Greta in particular is enamored with them.
Cecilia, meanwhile, is in her element any time dessert is served. i just love this kid!
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