D137 -- Stepping back in time

Today was all about sightseeing. Tons and tons of sightseeing. The Victor Emmanuel monument, Circus Maximus, the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and the church of St. Peter in Chains. They say that these two sets of chains were used to lock Peter up when he was jailed in Israel and in Rome. What a trouble maker he must have been to the non-Christians in charge back then! The church is also home to a very cool statue of Moses carved by Michelangelo.

The church and the monument were interesting, but the ruins were awesome. It was truly incredible to see a structure like the Colosseum standing after almost 2000 years and imagine how impressive it must have looked back in its day. Not to mention all the bloody gladiator “games.”

And the Forum!

We saw the place where the Roman senators met to make laws and the spot where Julius Cesar's body was cremated. Seeing first hand how humans have had organized and impressive civilizations for thousands of years left me with mixed emotions. It was inspiring and made me feel like we are all just little insignificant blips on the radar, and it made me sad that we've had organized governments and communities for thousands of years but are still living with war and hunger and inequality.

-Elva