Rainy day at Circus Maximus, Puma shoes and the Colluseum
The day started rainy, hard rain falling in fat droplets and I knew I would need an umbrella sooner or later. We popped into the bar on the corner for breakfast and had a most delicious cup of steamy cappuccino and a brioche I mean cornetto.
You see, in Italy, there are two schools of thought for how to approach a croissant (as we call it in the US). In the north of Italy, where I lived, we called it a brioche. But in Rome, may the roman gods help you if you as for a brioche and not a cornetto. Their croissant is a cornetto and forever will be a cornetto! Don't you dare be wrong! So, my brioche (hehe) was good and yummy. Our bill for 2 cappuchos and due cornetti came to 2.50 euro, not too shabby! If we were in tourist historic Rome we would have paid 10 euros for sure for the same thing.
So off we went in the direction of Circus Maximus. I enjoyed traveling in the rainy day in Rome, seeing people with their various umbrellas propped up against the rain and watching the flow of the city.
My feet on the other hand, did not enjoy the rain as much as I did. I wore my Pumas that are suede, thankfully, and they held up like troopers the first few hours in the rain. The suede slowly soaked in the rain but the water didn't travel to my feet till I stepped in a puddle and the water went over my shoe, into my laces and down to my skin. Then I was annoyed. A quick trip to Calzedonia, a sock store, soon fixed my wet foot problem and we were back on the road. I have to say though, Pumas are the shoes to wear for traveling. They are uberlight, super comfortable and the suede is breathable in heat, cold and even moderate rain. The rain I walked in Rome was heavy and not suited at all for Pumas so I am surprised and impressed that they held up as long as they did.
While my feet experienced a circus show of their own, we trodded in the soggy day towards the famous remains of Rome's Circus Maximus.
There have been versions and layers added and destroyed to Circus Maximus. The first circus, used for chariot races and the shape of a running track, was built in the 6th century BC. Looooong time ago!
Romulus, one of the founders of Rome, is said to have enjoyed racing horses and had this site set for that purpose. A few hundred years down the line the emperors of Rome began to build wooden tables and benches around the stadium for viewing and guess what? They burned to the ground! That is what happens when you build in wood! America, take note! Your wooden homes will never last! Then in 30 AD they rebuilt in guess what...wood! Again. Those Romans couldn't get it right. Emperor Nero, a horrible man, had a hissy fit, and set the circus on fire in 63 AD. That fire burnt most of Rome that was made of guess....you got it: wood. Well, the Romans had enough of this silly building out of wood and finally made a decision to build out of something that fire, time and hail couldn't destroy: Marble. Try setting that on fire Nero! So the slaves (1 out of 3 Romans were slaves) took to hauling, building, chipping and shaping the huge circus. After they built it in marble in 130 AD the following emperors just added and embellished the circus.
The circus was mainly used for chariot races, the type seen on this clip of Ben Hur. Other favorite sports seen here were gladiator fights. The lions would be kept hungry in cages below. But the majority of the sports here were chariot races. Over the centuries horses raced and raced. Emperors built their magnificent marble mansions next to the stadium so they could view from their palacial windows without setting a toe in the circus. Then the Roman magnificence started to die. Why? Corruption. Same tale, different time. By 700 AD there were very few if any races and the circus sat still, sad and alone till the renaissance when builders looked at its rock and decided to start pulling off marble here and there to build new mansions.
Today, Circus maximus is totally covered by earth and grass. People take their dogs to run in the base where mighty chariots once ran. It is possibly the most heroic dog park.
One part of the circus is gated off and is slowly being unearthed by archaeologists The city of Rome has decided to unearth and preserve this valuable historical site.
The rain fell, the water came up. I felt my shoes getting wet and my hair starting to curl. Great. An umbrella seller followed us taunting us with umbrellas at astounding prices. We declined with pride and walked on in the rain, then the sky opened up and poured on our heads like a bucket of water. We angrily bought a ratty rickety umbrella from the seller and huddled underneath of it. I don't think it did much good.
We walked through the middle of Circus Maximus (wild!) towards the other end where there were a line of cypris trees. The trees offered much better protection from the rain than the shabby umbrella.
We jumped on the tram and headed down to Piazza del Popolo to walk towards the Colosseum. My traveling buddy asked me if I wanted to go in the Colosseum and I declined. In 2001 I went with students and also refused to go in. I spent my money on a little naked statue of David instead.
The cost for entering is 12.50 euro. It was a spot for ruthless murders of thousands of people and animals. The inauguration of the Colosseum had gladiators kill 9,000 animals in one day alone. Emperor Trajan celebrated the victory of a war by hosting 123 days of fights between all types of African animals and humans. Over 11,000 animals and 10,000 humans died in 123 days at the Colosseum These killings were a sign of wealth and power. Americans toss their extra food out as a sign of spoiled wealth, be it unknown, but wealth. Romans tossed out human dignity and life.
Romans paid to go see these things, people pay today and I refuse to contribute one red penny to see the place where people and animals were intentionally murdered for fun. So we avoided paying to see the Colosseum but still poked around it.
We saw the cages where people and animals were held before being set upon each other to fight till the death. Wealthy politicians and emperors could send their arch enemies to fight with a lion. Imagine that. If your boss, professor or owner didn't like you, they could starve you and your kids then shackle you off to a dingy jail where you would wait your turn to fight a hungry bear in defense of your life while your boss sat in the stadium scratching his belly and jovially laughing at your demise. Terrible isn't it? Don't pay to see the Colosseum. Boycott it!
As an architectural structure, the Colosseum is remarkable. It could seat up to 87,000 spectators who would enter with a pottery shard as their ticket and it had their seat number engraved on it.
People entered the Colosseum through a vomitarium meaning a passage where a large quantity can pass through, or vomit through. I wasn't particularly impressed with the Colosseum and think that the way the Romans entertained themselves is absolutely monstrous. It is the marked proof that humans, given the opportunity, will enjoy themselves brutally at the expense of other human and animal suffering. I don't want to know who in my life, if they were a powerful Roman, would have set me to fight for my life against a lion. I would have passed out for sure. My guess is my fourth grade teacher (truly evil), boss at one job (heart of darkness) and co-worker at another (evil incarnate). They all claimed to perfect women, naturally. Because of them, because of terror and brutality that exists today, because of hatred and waste of human life I will never pay to see a place that was used for human suffering. And those are my two cents for the day. To end on a nice note, here are some beautiful things we passed.
 |
| cappuccino |
 |
| Brioche or cornetto? |
You see, in Italy, there are two schools of thought for how to approach a croissant (as we call it in the US). In the north of Italy, where I lived, we called it a brioche. But in Rome, may the roman gods help you if you as for a brioche and not a cornetto. Their croissant is a cornetto and forever will be a cornetto! Don't you dare be wrong! So, my brioche (hehe) was good and yummy. Our bill for 2 cappuchos and due cornetti came to 2.50 euro, not too shabby! If we were in tourist historic Rome we would have paid 10 euros for sure for the same thing.
So off we went in the direction of Circus Maximus. I enjoyed traveling in the rainy day in Rome, seeing people with their various umbrellas propped up against the rain and watching the flow of the city.
My feet on the other hand, did not enjoy the rain as much as I did. I wore my Pumas that are suede, thankfully, and they held up like troopers the first few hours in the rain. The suede slowly soaked in the rain but the water didn't travel to my feet till I stepped in a puddle and the water went over my shoe, into my laces and down to my skin. Then I was annoyed. A quick trip to Calzedonia, a sock store, soon fixed my wet foot problem and we were back on the road. I have to say though, Pumas are the shoes to wear for traveling. They are uberlight, super comfortable and the suede is breathable in heat, cold and even moderate rain. The rain I walked in Rome was heavy and not suited at all for Pumas so I am surprised and impressed that they held up as long as they did.
While my feet experienced a circus show of their own, we trodded in the soggy day towards the famous remains of Rome's Circus Maximus.
 |
| Circus Maximus ruins and a 14th century tower built from their remains. |
 |
| Political signs on the street |
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| Once a gorgeous palace where the emperor of Rome could watch the games from his lofty abode. |
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| Pizza calda, bibite, gelati, panini all outside the circus! |
There have been versions and layers added and destroyed to Circus Maximus. The first circus, used for chariot races and the shape of a running track, was built in the 6th century BC. Looooong time ago!
 |
| Getting a first hand tour guide from a handsome gentleman who studied in Rome. |
Romulus, one of the founders of Rome, is said to have enjoyed racing horses and had this site set for that purpose. A few hundred years down the line the emperors of Rome began to build wooden tables and benches around the stadium for viewing and guess what? They burned to the ground! That is what happens when you build in wood! America, take note! Your wooden homes will never last! Then in 30 AD they rebuilt in guess what...wood! Again. Those Romans couldn't get it right. Emperor Nero, a horrible man, had a hissy fit, and set the circus on fire in 63 AD. That fire burnt most of Rome that was made of guess....you got it: wood. Well, the Romans had enough of this silly building out of wood and finally made a decision to build out of something that fire, time and hail couldn't destroy: Marble. Try setting that on fire Nero! So the slaves (1 out of 3 Romans were slaves) took to hauling, building, chipping and shaping the huge circus. After they built it in marble in 130 AD the following emperors just added and embellished the circus.
The circus was mainly used for chariot races, the type seen on this clip of Ben Hur. Other favorite sports seen here were gladiator fights. The lions would be kept hungry in cages below. But the majority of the sports here were chariot races. Over the centuries horses raced and raced. Emperors built their magnificent marble mansions next to the stadium so they could view from their palacial windows without setting a toe in the circus. Then the Roman magnificence started to die. Why? Corruption. Same tale, different time. By 700 AD there were very few if any races and the circus sat still, sad and alone till the renaissance when builders looked at its rock and decided to start pulling off marble here and there to build new mansions.
Today, Circus maximus is totally covered by earth and grass. People take their dogs to run in the base where mighty chariots once ran. It is possibly the most heroic dog park.
 |
| Fido rolling in the grass that once had prestigious horse races. |
One part of the circus is gated off and is slowly being unearthed by archaeologists The city of Rome has decided to unearth and preserve this valuable historical site.
 |
| City plans to unearth this site |
 |
| Image of horse races |
 |
| Can you see? In 105 AD they celebrated the newly rebuilt circus! HA! |
The rain fell, the water came up. I felt my shoes getting wet and my hair starting to curl. Great. An umbrella seller followed us taunting us with umbrellas at astounding prices. We declined with pride and walked on in the rain, then the sky opened up and poured on our heads like a bucket of water. We angrily bought a ratty rickety umbrella from the seller and huddled underneath of it. I don't think it did much good.
|
| Under our umbrella the size of a flower petal |
We walked through the middle of Circus Maximus (wild!) towards the other end where there were a line of cypris trees. The trees offered much better protection from the rain than the shabby umbrella.
 |
| better umbrellas |
 |
| dry on the left wet on the right |
 |
| spots of dry |
We jumped on the tram and headed down to Piazza del Popolo to walk towards the Colosseum. My traveling buddy asked me if I wanted to go in the Colosseum and I declined. In 2001 I went with students and also refused to go in. I spent my money on a little naked statue of David instead.
The cost for entering is 12.50 euro. It was a spot for ruthless murders of thousands of people and animals. The inauguration of the Colosseum had gladiators kill 9,000 animals in one day alone. Emperor Trajan celebrated the victory of a war by hosting 123 days of fights between all types of African animals and humans. Over 11,000 animals and 10,000 humans died in 123 days at the Colosseum These killings were a sign of wealth and power. Americans toss their extra food out as a sign of spoiled wealth, be it unknown, but wealth. Romans tossed out human dignity and life.
Romans paid to go see these things, people pay today and I refuse to contribute one red penny to see the place where people and animals were intentionally murdered for fun. So we avoided paying to see the Colosseum but still poked around it.
We saw the cages where people and animals were held before being set upon each other to fight till the death. Wealthy politicians and emperors could send their arch enemies to fight with a lion. Imagine that. If your boss, professor or owner didn't like you, they could starve you and your kids then shackle you off to a dingy jail where you would wait your turn to fight a hungry bear in defense of your life while your boss sat in the stadium scratching his belly and jovially laughing at your demise. Terrible isn't it? Don't pay to see the Colosseum. Boycott it!
As an architectural structure, the Colosseum is remarkable. It could seat up to 87,000 spectators who would enter with a pottery shard as their ticket and it had their seat number engraved on it.
People entered the Colosseum through a vomitarium meaning a passage where a large quantity can pass through, or vomit through. I wasn't particularly impressed with the Colosseum and think that the way the Romans entertained themselves is absolutely monstrous. It is the marked proof that humans, given the opportunity, will enjoy themselves brutally at the expense of other human and animal suffering. I don't want to know who in my life, if they were a powerful Roman, would have set me to fight for my life against a lion. I would have passed out for sure. My guess is my fourth grade teacher (truly evil), boss at one job (heart of darkness) and co-worker at another (evil incarnate). They all claimed to perfect women, naturally. Because of them, because of terror and brutality that exists today, because of hatred and waste of human life I will never pay to see a place that was used for human suffering. And those are my two cents for the day. To end on a nice note, here are some beautiful things we passed.
 |
| I don't know what I love more: the ginormous bubble or the castle or the sunshine? I will go for the bubble and the sun. |
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| Here comes the sun! |
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| ommmm |
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| Site seeing priests |
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