All rails lead to Rome

The entire holiday experience was driven by two desires. Kristie's desire to see a death camp, and my desire to see a ruined civilization. We could have done the latter by going to the USA, and had hot dogs into the bargain, but the former would have been ignored, and that's just not fair.

In the end, we decided that the Roman civilization was just about as ruined as you could get, if you discount those people who were lucky enough to live in Atlantis.

We spent just about a week in the city that became a state that became an empire that became nothing that became a city, and it's one of the few places on the entire trip that I would bother returning to. Every street you walked down had something to look at, and while pedestrians are fairly low on the traffic pecking order (unless you're obviously clergy), it's by far the best way to see the city.

As was customary for us in the course of the trip, we decided to go the wrong way from the train station towards our hotel. Luckily this time we were only half a block away when we realized. Having deposited our bags, and sitting in the room that smelled vaguely bad, but not in any way that you could put your finger on, we decided to head and see what all this Rome fuss was about.

We made it as far as the Colosseum that first night, before deciding that we'd really had quite enough, and we were not at all sure how far it was back to our room. I've been told that I am not allowed to talk about the Colosseum, Kristie reserved that one, so she can show off what we consider the best photo taken on the entire trip. Not only because we are not in it.

The first full day of our Roman Holiday was spent wandering aimlessly around the city. That seems to be a fairly good way to describe most of the holiday, in hindsight. Perhaps the coolest thing we found on that day of wandering was also the least expected. I had no idea that the excavated tomb of Augustus was available to wander around. It was certainly, as far as I could tell, not heavily advertised. A suspicion given legs by the fact that, unlike anywhere else in Rome, there were only three people there at the same time as us. The tomb itself is manned by a wizened old man who sits at a collapsible table all day taking the three Euro off tourists, and offering to sell them pamphlets and information brochures for various other lesser known attractions throughout the city. Nevertheless the intrepid explorers ventured forth into this unassuming pile of stones, to see what there was to see.


Tomb of Augustus

Not much actually. The tomb itself has hardly been preserved. None of the marble fascia is left, having been scavenged for alternate building projects over the years. There's not much left of the inside for that matter. It's just an empty, run down shell of what might have at one point been the grandest building in Rome. Rocks were strewn randomly across the floor, from where the weather had been working at it for thousands of years. While there was not much to see, there was plenty to feel. Knowing that at some point the most powerful man in the world (at the time) had been buried here was odd. Given the poor showing the place puts on nowadays you'd think the Romans would offer something better. Still, there's a lot to be said for their sometimes policy of leaving things alone. Somehow it makes the things feel more real.

The other major tomb that's available to tourists in this great city is the Tomb of Hadrian. Also known as the Castel St Angelo, this building is a much better preserved building than the tomb of Augustus. Due in great part to the proximity of the building to the Vatican. In fact, had it not been for the Roman Catholic church this tomb may be in the same state as the Augustine mausoleum. The Popes of the 1500's decided that the building was so well located that they not only preserved the tomb, but added to it, building accomodation for the Pope, as well as battlements, making it a defensive barrier right there on the Tiber river. There's an odd dichotomy in the building, the lower levels, through the entry, are quite sparse, and made of raw stone. This is the original site of the tomb, and in fact the room that used to contain the body of Emperor Hadrian is now traversed by a wooden bridge, enabling access to the newer upper levels. These levels are obviously newer, from the working around the doors, to the fact that most of the rooms are constructed using a wooden frame, and not full brick. While there has not been a pontifical inhabitant in many years, several of the rooms are preserved in the manner they were decorated at the time. The upper site houses several museum style rooms with a history of arms, and a completely decorated room, that actually used to be the sleeping quarters of the Pope.


Hadrian's Tomb


Winding paths within tomb

Unfortunately, balancing this mix of old and new is the ultimate new. The Souvenir shop, restaurant and bar. I understand that these things are a necessary money making evil, and for the most part Rome had them under control. Why they felt it was necessary to put tables and chairs out on the observation deck is beyond me.


Side view of Hadrian's Tomb showing old and new work completed

The following day we proceeded to take our tour of the Colosseum, and followed that by spending the rest of the day walking around the ruins the Roman Forum. For several hours, we trudged up and down former grand avenues, looking into what would have been palaces, temples and shops. All the while glaringly ignore the glazed look the Kristie's eyes had taken on. She was not, as they say, amused. With no hint of irony, I could say that we spent about half as much time wandering the ruins as I could have handled. For those that have not been to Rome, the currently excavated area is huge. It would take hours to simply walk around the perimeter, not even stopping to look at things, and taking photos.


Ruins at Roman Forum


Ruined Senator's residence

Eventually, it's possible to become slightly burnt out wandering around a city that wears it history so obviously. Most cities will have a section or two where the past has been preserved, but Rome literally has its past on display in every street, and every corner.