Oh, Roma! (May 31)

Wow. Wow! Wow!! Wow!!! What more can I say? Rome was absolutely mesmerizing in it's history and beauty. We had a private guide/car that made getting around sooo much easier! We were very blessed to be able to visit the Pantheon, the Coliseum, multiple "town squares" bridges and many other fascinating historical buildings.

In this excursion, we learned many interesting facts about various buildings that I had never known before, such as the fact that the Pantheon has multiple domes (interior and exterior), as well as walls that are twenty feet thick! The Coliseum was divided into multiple sections. The top section, as the worst view, was reserved for women and slaves only. The next section down contained the seats for Plebians, or common men. Finally, the Patricians, or wealthy aristocracy sat just above the emperor's special "box seats". (Jesse)

Today was perhaps the most thrilling yet daunting stop in the Med. Early this morning we pulled into port and then drove to the city of Rome. Given that we'd visited Rome previously on one of the cruise tours, we decided to utilize a private guide and driver so that we could tour the locations that interested us most.

First we went once again to the Coliseum. This time we were actually able to go inside this fantastic structure, and get a full sense of its size, beauty and function. Then throughout the course of the rest of the day we saw many fabulous sites such as the ancient Roman Forum, the triumphal Arch of Constantine, Circus Maximus and the ancient aqueducts.



We also visited the incredible Pantheon, climbed the famous Spanish Steps and enjoyed a panoramic view of Rome from a nearby hilltop. In fact, we saw and learned so much that I simply can't list everything. The places we visited and the history we absorbed were absolutely jaw-dropping, and they were actually made even more so by the fact that we had been there once before. Our guide (Mayta) was extremely knowledgeable about everything we saw, and she truly immersed us in the history of the the city.