It’s been a rough 2023. I prefer not to vent my problems here on my site because I like to keep things light, and I will keep it that way. However, I will share that this household has seen two job losses and the death of a family member. Not good. I lost my teaching job in January, and my wife lost her job after my mother-in-law passed away a week before that. Rough? That’s an understatement. Thanks to friends and most family, (yes there’s an underlying potshot there) the encouragement, and well wishes, have certainly softened the blow.
It will get better. In the meantime, I decided it was time to plan the trip of a lifetime. Italy, here we come. France and England were also on the schedule. I will discuss each of those countries in the future. Let’s focus on Italy in this post. There’s so much to write about Italy, so I’m going to do a few posts on this country alone.
Having read travel blogs and talking to friends, it was a no-brainer making Rome, Italy the first stop in our three-country tour. We flew out of Los Angeles with a brief layover at JFK in New York before taking the red eye into Rome. It’s over an eight-hour flight in case you’re curious. That’s a long time in an airplane, but I got a lot of reading done. We arrived around 1 PM Italy time and took a taxi straight to our Air BNB. The apartment was perfect and was only a 10-15 minute walk to the Vatican. No wonder I felt peace when we arrived. I booked us a tour of the Colosseum that evening, so there wasn’t much time to get settled. I’m glad I picked this as our first stop because, when in Rome right?
Rome is one of the oldest cities in the world. The history of the Roman Empire and beyond is always an interesting read. I don’t want to lose your attention so I’m only going to focus, briefly, on the Colosseum since it was our first stop. The Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Amphitheater. It was built during the reign of the Flavian emperors as a gift to the Roman people. Construction began sometime between A.D. 70 and 72. Yes, that was a very long time ago. It was built to revitalize the city and intended to be an entertainment venue. Watch the movie Gladiator and you’ll get an idea of its intent.
Walking around that amazing structure left me speechless. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. When you walk through there and really think about the history of that place, you can’t help but be in awe and wonder. I’m so glad we went there on day one. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any shots of it at night, but I did take a few from the outside and inside as well. Keep scrolling and you’ll see a few of them.
It was a full day. Jet lag hadn’t set in yet, but it did later. I’ll save that for another post. Keep in mind it was very hot during our time in Italy. I’m told the best time to visit is in October, but if summer is your best shot, be prepared for the heat. In the meantime, I highly recommend visiting the Colosseum. You won’t regret it.
I’ve included links to the company that conducted our tour and to the Colosseum itself. Tell me what you think about Rome. Have you ever visited? Would you like to visit? Stay tuned for part two of the Italian tour.
Sorry to hear about the job losses and passing of your wife's mother-in-law. My daughter and her husband are planning to take me on a trip next year to Europe. ( I have never visited Europe.) Plans include Sweden, France and a brief stop in England. I am looking forward to your posts.