Day 316: “What we do in life echoes in eternity”

06/06/2022

This morning was another leisurely start to the day. We were mentally preparing ourselves to be roasted in Rome, our hottest day yet. As we made our way into the city we had to make sure our wee Glaswegian was staying cool with wet hats and hankies.

After one of our more interesting bus rides, we made our way up to what we thought was Campo de’ Fiori, where we were expecting a market square for brunch. Perhaps it was cancelled due to the heat. Turns out we were not quite on the right level of Rome.

The Campidoglio, also known as Monte Capitolino, is one of the seven hills on which Rome was founded. Its altitude is 48 m asl on the Arx, 35.9 m asl in the Asylum and 44.7 m asl on the Capitolium proper. The Campidoglio is also the representative office of the municipality of Rome… In 460 BC the Capitol was occupied by the four thousand armed men of the Sabine Appio Erdonio who, with this coup, tried to take over the city.

We made our way down overlooking the Roman Forum.

By this stage, brunch was turning into lunch. We were all starving and overheated.

The food here is seriously good. Full of pasta and energy we powered on until we saw the Colosseum for the first time. The wait was worth it! It was instantly breathtaking.

We finally managed to find some Lachlan friendly gelato. Not a bad place to try your first ice cream. With Lachnado now full of sugar we made our way around the Colosseum.

It is true, you can’t take a bad shot of the Colosseum.

The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312.

We made our way up to the top of Palatine Hill. Eloise was a trooper on the steep climb. There were plenty of Roman ruins to take in. Eloise was concerned about how messy it was so set to work rebuilding it.

The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century AD honorific arch, located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus.

The Palatine Hill, which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called “the first nucleus of the Roman Empire.” The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites.

Feeling the full force of 36°C we made our way down through the Roman Forum. By this stage, Lachnado was in full swing with the bumpy Roman roads.

Blaming the heat Eloise and Dad broke the Roman rules and their GPDs crept above 1.

We went back to sit in the shade of the Colosseum to cool down and have a rest. We have been secretly hoping that Lachlan would start roaming in Rome. Super Mum has had enough of his bizarre crawling technique. Surely the Roman paths would make him stand. Not today.

Once we had all cooled down and tried our best to consume what appears to be an infinite amount of street sparkling water, tourist Lachnado was ready for action. We were finally heading into the fourth New7Wonders of the World.

It was fairly busy as you would expect, not anywhere near as busy as a couple of weeks ago though as “Rome celebrated as Roma win Europa Conference League”.

Being inside the Colosseum was one of those pinch yourself moments. There were people from every corner of the globe in awe. Eloise cheekily kept grabbing the walls, “I touched it Dad. Mum, Dad, me touched it”. Eloise could not believe it was older than Grandpa Dave. Lachlan was honking and flapping throughout enjoying being out of the pram.

The Colosseum is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world today, despite its age. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian (r. 69–79 AD) in 72 and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir, Titus (r. 79–81). Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (r. 81–96). The three emperors that were patrons of the work are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named the Flavian Amphitheatre by later classicists and archaeologists for its association with their family name (Flavius).

Worryingly it had been almost six hours since we last had pasta. Eloise chose a spot for dinner around the corner from the Colosseum. They were saying it had been a while since they had heard Australian accents.

It had been a humongous day, no surprise the kids were asleep before the train had arrived.

Coincidentally today’s Google Doodle celebrated Italian inventor, Angelo Moriondo. Liam is looking forward to trying an Italian Espresso if it ever cools down.

Angelo Moriondo ( Turin , June 6, 1851 – Marentino , May 31, 1914 ) was an Italian inventor and entrepreneur known for having created the first modern espresso coffee machine, patented on May 16, 1884 and presented at Expo 1884 in Turin. Thus was designed the instant coffee machine.

“Good news for Australia today as, “Australia’s Minjee Lee has won the US Women’s Open, claiming one of the biggest women’s golf tournaments ever”.