Peeling the Apple: Ciao, bella Roma

Day 11 / June 5 --- Roman Forum, Colosseum, and once more at the Pantheon

I've been putting off this post. Guess because it's the last day of the trip and I wanted to savor the whole experience.

In the morning, we met Rich at the Roman Forum ruins for our final tour. I vaguely remember this from college, but coming with a guide made all the difference. It's hard to know what you're looking at since it's all from different periods and in pieces. By the time we finished though, I was hooked and wanted to understand the history of Rome much more than I do.

The second part of the tour was at the Colosseum. By the time we wrapped, I was ready to spend some time just enjoying Rome and relaxing. I got my wish when we walked over to one of my favorite buildings in the world - the Pantheon. We stumbled into a practice session for a full on high school choir concert. It might be my favorite moment of the trip. One that I will truly treasure. So happy I could share it with my sweet family.

Afterwards, we sat at a cafe with drinks and tiramisu. Perfect end to a perfectly life changing trip.

Starting the day off right.

Trey's getting the full story.

In the forum ruins.

Typical Rich expression.

Roma skyline.

These beautiful blue flowers represent where water would have been. Very cool idea.

Used to be a circus with chariot races. They've laid out the leftover pieces to show us how it would have looked.

Cool trees.

Outside the Colosseum.

I didn't realize how much of the Colosseum was rebuilt for tourists in the 19th century. Anywhere you see red brick is faked. So the only REAL ruin in this photo is the single arch. For anyone who hasn't been to the Colosseum, MOST of it is fakely rebuilt like this. It's still cool and a good representation, but good to know what's what.

See all the red brick?

I like the addition of the stage.

Got in as many family photos as possible since it's the last day of the trip.

Arch of Constantine

Pantheon's ceiling. I'm obsessed with how it doesn't look real.

The whole experience was breathtaking. I've never used that word before, but this really calls for it. The way the sound filled the dome was magical.

When we entered they were singing Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire. It was Mom and Dad's wedding song. They took each other's hands when they heard it. So so sweet.