The Eternal City

February 13

Ciao a tutti (Hello everyone)

The weather here has been quite pleasant this week.  We have had sunshine and blue sky everyday with temperatures between 12 and 17 degrees.  Apparently this is an unusual weather pattern at this time of year.  Nevertheless it is a nice treat.

Toby at the Beach

Every Wednesday and Saturday morning in Lanciano is market day.  You can pretty well buy anything you need including food, fresh flowers, clothing, household items, etc all at reasonable prices.  This week I took advantage and bought blooming primrose plants for our balcony.

My purchase at the Market

Friday the school had a day trip to Rome.  I took in the tour of The Ancient City.  Our first stop was the Colosseum which was builit when the Roman Empire was at its peak in A.D. 80.  Its original name was the Falvian Amphitheatre.  This arena was for gladiator contests and public spectacles.  The Romans wanted to share the fun with as many people as possible so put two amphitheatres facing each other.   

There was seating for 55,000 people arranged by rank with the most wealthy nearest the ground level right up to the top level which could be occupied by women and slaves. Underneath the wooden floor covered in sand, were chambers housing the animals. Admission was free as the games were sponsored. 

When it first opened, there were 100 days of games. Each day games were scheduled from mid-morning to later in the afternoon, with the best gladiators fighting at the end of the day. It is reported that upwards of 5000 animals were killed during that period.   

As we left the Colesseum we made our way to the Roman Forum.  The Forum was the political, religious, and commerical centre of the city.  This is where Marc Antony gave his speech “Friends, Romans, Countrymen...” and Julius Caesar’s body was cremated here.

The Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

Inside The Forum

Blossoms in The Forum - a sign of Spring

Once leaving The Forum we wandered over to Trevi Fountain.  There is always action around the Fountain.  One is to toss a coin over your shoulder, to make a wish and assure your return to Rome.  ‘It worked for me’.  From there we went to the Spanish Steps which is one of the most famous meeting places in Rome.  

Trevi Fountain - making my wish

Spanish Steps

After the tour I met up with George (he went to the Catacombs) and Christine and we wandered through the streets.  As we were getting hungry we went to a nice little outdoor restaurant with outdoor heaters and had a wonderful Italian meal with vino rosso, delicious....

The end of a good day.  Notice our scarfs, that is the Italian way!

Yesterday was a fairly quiet day.  We were given a membership to Metro which is like our Costco.  Metro is located in Chieti which is about a 35 minute drive.  We ventured out in the afternoon in the hopes of locating it.  Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn and ended up not even close to the store.  We did end up in Pescara and went for a walk along the beach.  

This week we are getting ready to have our whole family arrive next weekend.  As you can imagine we are really excited.  Till next week....

A presto