Day 3: September 7

After a good night of sleep, Ross and I had adjusted to the time difference. Now it was time to see what we came here for. Ross had a whole list of things he wanted to see in Rome: The usual tourist attractions, but also two different catacomb sites. He does like zombies as anyone familiar with his work knows. I think he has some sort of old bone fetish.

The first thing we did was purchase a RomaPass for 32 Euros – about $42 – each. It was a 3-day ticket that allowed all rides on city buses during that time, and admission to two ancient sites, and a 30% discount on the third site.

In the morning we explored some of the streets, studying the architecture of various buildings and arches, Monumenti Vittorio Emanuele II, Trajan’s Column, Santa Maria de Loreto.

Our afternoon destination was the Roman Colosseum. Everyone knows what the Colosseum was: the playground of Emperor Nero and others who liked gladiators and Christians getting killed (plus other ho-hum events we don’t read about). Thumbs up, thumbs down – yes, it was origin of that gesture. It wasn’t invented by Siskel & Ebert on At the Movies, but decided if the person in the arena would live (thumbs up) or die (thumbs down).

Our RomaPass allowed us to skip the long lines, and enter. And walk. And climb stairs. And walk more. And climb more stairs. Each level of the Colosseum is 52 steps high – four times what you have between floors at home. And get out of the way of all those f##king tourists! I mean, we weren’t “tourists” like those people. No, we we’re artists, and... and... journalists... yeah. That’s the ticket.

There are things in the Colosseum that the Romans did not have: guard rails, bannisters, and modern floor coverings over the original floorings. Keep them tourists safe. Ross proceeded to photograph scores of details of the structure: Arches, brick and stone work, bas-reliefs, architectural compositions. Views of Rome from the Colosseum. Yes, he did some amazing photos.

We had much different plans for the evening – Dinner at Ristoranti al Piacere (Gnocchi Sorrentina, Lasagne Forno), followed by Verdi’s La Traviata performed by I Virtuosi dell’Opera di Roma at Teatro Salone Margherita. 2nd row seats, with the 20-piece orchestra between us and the performers, who were only about 12 feet away. Think of an opera superbly performed in your living room! It was a fabulous ending to our first full day in Rome.