Rome – Italy

The very first attraction we visited in Rome was the Colosseum, or Roman Coliseum which was built by an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 slaves. With their hard work, this arena had drawn million of visitors every year to Rome. We were no exception; we paid our visit and respect to this gorgeous arena. 中文版

Looking at these larger than human sized marble and concrete stones, I wondered if Roman habitants were actually giants. That would explain how the Coliseum was built.

The morning started off with cloudy skies. Our hotel was only three subway stops away, but light rain started when we reached the Coliseum. You would not believe that by the time we entered the stadium, it started pouring. The pouring rain was like a whip from the sky, smashing into us relentlessly. We were like gladiators in the Coliseum, there to fight against the rain and to capture the Coliseum, albeit on our cameras and in our minds.

You would see “extra” ruins on the side, looking like they have nowhere else to be stored but to be laid anywhere. We touched and felt them. At one point, I think I even smelled blood in my nostrils, felt the fierce lions nearby, probably hidden down in the center where they used to be. If we happened to trespass these forbidden area, we would probably have to deal with the lions as well.

We weren’t defeated by the rain even we were totally soaked, it was the hunger and coldness that drove us to leave. After all, warriors need food and shelter, too. It was such a coincidence that the rain which tortured us the whole time we were in Coliseum actually stopped when we left. While we were having pizza at the food stand outside of the Coliseum, we saw two rainbows, not just one, arching towards the Coliseum. I guess that was a sign of appreciation of the warriors who conquered their fight.

After a bit of food, the sun came back up, we also regained a bit of strength and motivation to visit Palatine Hill. We didn’t stay long as we were too tired from fighting the rain and the cold earlier, when we got closer to the gate, there were people rushing us to leave anyway as they closed before the sun went down.

We found our backpack was filled with water when we got to the hotel. Ian’s camera wasn’t working for the rest of the day, the ipod had mist on the screen, the map was gone, even Ian’s transportation pass, located in his wallet, was no longer functional, for the rest of our trip in Rome. He had to show the ticket to the transportation staff every time to let through. Why they didn’t just issue him another pass, we have no answer for. Since that day, I started getting a sore throat and even stayed in bed one day upon our return.