The Miller Memoirs

DAY 7...ROME in a DAY
Setting foot in Italy sent chills of excitement through me! How exciting to be in Italy! How fun to be in the country shaped like a boot... Ever since eighth grade geography, I have wanted to visit Italy...the country shaped like a boot! It was it's shape that drew my interest in eighth grade, but as an adult, there was definitely more to the country than its mere shape.
Jill and I left the airport with a game plan. First on our list was St. Peter's Cathedral. The taxi ride to the Cathedral was an adventure in and of itself. Our driver maneuvered in and out of traffic, up on sidewalks, towards oncoming traffic, and all at break neck speeds. He definitely made good time to the Cathedral, and I almost lost my breakfast in the process! When my feet touched the sidewalk outside of the Cathedral, I literally sighed with relief--I was safe, and my prospects of living were much better! And so...our tour of ROME IN A DAY began...

The Vatican at St. Peter's Square

I stood in the center of the Vatican, and tried to take it all in...it was huge, majestic, awe inspiring, and beautiful!

St. Peter's Cathedral
St. Peter's Cathedral is the largest church in the world! It took practice to capture the Cathedral with us in a picture!

After visiting St. Peter's Cathedral, we took a tour bus to the Colosseum

THE COLOSSEUM

Imagine a huge, immense, round structure with tiny people that in comparison are mere ants to the structure's enormity. Now imagine being an ant, and looking up at the enormity of the structure with nothing else on your mind, but the word HUGE. Now imagine another ant startling you by walking towards you to take a picture (an ant you hadn't noticed next to this immense structure). And now...you have imagined the Colosseum--MY FAVORITE SITE IN ROME!!!
We went with a personal guided tour through the Colosseum. Our tour guide took us back in time as he explained the history of the Colosseum. His explanations left me with feelings of sadness, unbelief, and amazement.
Sadness, because so many people and animals lost their lives within the walls of the Colosseum. It was a place of battle for both gladiators and animals. Some gladiators fought for honor, but most fought for freedom (most of the gladiators were slaves). Over 500,000 people died for sport...for games. Every game was to the death... Just as many animals lost their lives as did gladiators. Animals of every kind--deer, lion, elephant, bear, and many more.
UNBELIEF, because it was all for sport...
AMAZEMENT, because of the sheer HUGENESS of the Colosseum, which was built thousands of years ago (80 AD).
FACTS I LEARNED ABOUT THE COLOSSEUM:
-The Colosseum was a gaming arena.
-The games would often last all day long. The Colosseum sat 50-60,000 people.
-In 1349 there was a great earthquake that damaged the south side.
-In 2007 it was named one of the 7 wonders of the world.
-It was an amazing site!

~Outside of Colosseum~

~Animal Barracks~

~Animal Barracks~

~Animal Barracks~

PALATINE HILL & ROMAN FORUM

Our private tour of the Colosseum also took us to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forums. We learned about Kings of the Past. Stories about kings and queens killing for power--brothers, uncles, and aunts fighting against each other for the purpose of gain. Through our guide's eyes we learned of their prestige, of their attitude towards life and others. We viewed life through their perspective. One story he told us was about how kings felt themselves to be exalted above others. He said they would eat with their hands, and then hold their hands out behind them, without a backward glance, to have a servant clean the grime from their hands. The servant would then wash and dry the king's hand. There would be no kind of acknowledgement of the servant by the king. Another story was about a king's death at the hand of his queen...all because the queen was tired of hearing about the king's complaints. Each tale was spun a similar theme...power, prestige, and money.
These tales reminded me of the story of the Jaradites in The Book of Mormon. In The Book of Mormon fathers, sons, daughters, mothers, brothers, uncles, and aunts fought against one another. They killed for gain. They thought only of themselves, and they were utterly destroyed! Satan tricks people into believing that happiness is found through selfishness, and in reality happiness is found through service, and love, and genuine kindness. It is sad to me that history repeats itself in such a dramatic way.

~Roman Forums~

~Roman Forums~

~Roman Forums~

~Arch at the base of Palantine Hill~

After Palantine Hill and the Roman Forums, we started hiking towards what we thought was the Trevi Fountain...well, we missed the fountains, and we were fortunate to see...

Santa Maria Maggiaore

It was one of the four major basilicas in Rome. The other three basilicas were: St. John Lateran, St. Peter's (which we had already visited), and St. Paul's. It was the only basilica that retained its core structure after the earthquake in 1348. It was a neat building, but extremely far from our original destination (the Trevi Fountain).... So, we took a taxi to the Trevi Fountain.

TREVI FOUNTAIN

...we had lunch right on the square at the Trevi Fountain

Italian Pizza
AWESOME!!!!

Italian Gelato

PANTHEON

The Pantheon was built as a temple to the Ancient Gods or Ancient Rome. This is the world's largest unenforced dome built in 31 BC. It was unbelievable!

~Fountain Outside the Pantheon~

~Fountain Outside the Pantheon~

Piazza Navona
Our final stop was at the Piazza Navona. There were four God's on the fountain, which represented four rivers. It was built in 1651.
This area was so fun!! There was street art everywhere! Jill and I found some art that we loved!!! We tried negotiating a cheaper price for the paintings, but to no avail. When the artist would not negotiate, we finally walked away with full intentions of doing just that...walking away. However, we both left feeling as if we had made a mistake... We loved the art so much that we returned to purchase the paintings. When we returned, he already had the pictures ready to be purchased. He said he knew we would be back! Obviously, Jill and I were a bit clueless as to how to negotiate prices!

~The Smart Car~
I had to get a picture of this car...it was everywhere in Europe!