Ruined in Rome

ST LUKE'S: It's my weekend so of course I'm at work and it's time, surely, to start on the Roman reminisces. This is going to have to be scattergun because it's a distant hazy past of beer, wine, appertivos, etc. So what did I do? I might as well start with some of the big guns: The Coliseum, the Forum and the Palatine.

The Forum is the major collection of ruins from Ancient Rome. They include houses and various public buildings. Spread over the equivalent of several football fields, the ruins include the remains of various public and private buildings. Packed with tourists its hard to imagine life as it might've been back in the era of togas but when you stumble across deserted corners it's well and truly worth it. There was also one noteworthy structure, I forget what it was, but it's arches must have climbed thirty metres in the air. We tried a variety of angles to try and capture it's scale but the thing was too immense.

Of the major ruins, the Coliseum was probably the biggest disappointment. But then it's the kind of place a you've heard about for years and the fantasy will always pale next to the reality. And it doesn't help that much of the top tier had already been pilfered. The other thing was that the size of the arena floor, compared to say an AFL field, was quite small. It was probably perfect for battles to the death between two men, but it was half the size I'd imagined. I'd also imagined that the floor of the arena was intact. Instead it had been stripped away to reveal the labyrinth of passages through which gladiators, animals and whatever else were shepherded on their way to the killing floor. Most people suggest visiting in the late afternoon to avoid the tour groups and we did just that. The tactic allowed us to scrounge fifteen minutes of solitude as the sun set.

The Palatine is comprised of the more stately buildings, palaces and gardens. Sitting on the hill overlooking the Forum, it costs about 10 euros to get in, but that includes the ruins of various temples, arenas, one of the first mud huts from the original roman settlement, some superb views of Circus Maximus and various ruined mansions. While I don't remember specifics now, I do remember we dined on Parma ham, cheese and bread, and spent about two hours wandering aimlessly across these ruins.

So if you think these reminisces are crap... piss off. I know I should've blogged them earlier when the memories were still fresh but I didn't. I was busy. Because I'm global jetset. Aigght.