Second I have to say I have never felt Rome as hot as it has been the past two days! They are having a heat wave that is more appropriate for July/August. Today was 98* with humidity we are not used to. One of the great things about Rome is that fountains are everywhere and the water is pure. We can refill the bottles everywhere and today the kids pretty much bathed in the fountains outside the Borghese museum.
We started at the Colosseum today with a guided tour. Today we learned that they could simultaneously open 64 trap doors from the tunnels to the arena floor. That made it difficult for the gladiators to defend themselves. We also learned the arena was occasionally filled with water for ship battles but that ended when the animal bones from the fights clogged up the pipes that drained the water. Who knew?
Then we took an abbreviated walk through the Forum and while there saw a really cool exhibit about Roman glass and mosaics housed in the senate building.
After a quick lunch we headed to the Borghese Museum. This is one of my favorites. The kids were so interested in what the guides had to teach them. The sculptures by Bernini seemed to be the favorites. It was amazing how on "Apollo and Daphne" the realism was extraordinary! The kids walk around and around in fascination.
We then headed to San Pietro in Vincoli. This church houses the chains that were on Peter as he was brought to Rome. The kids commented on how remarkable it was to be so close to something tangible which had been on one of the disciples of Christ. They were also interested in Michelangelo's "Moses."
Dinner was finally a bit of variety and now the kids are out spending their parent's hard earned money. They have Kalani and Stephen with them and it will be interesting to see how they do on their first Metro ride as they come back to the hotel. Bueno Notte!
Update - the kids all made it back to the hotel with no problems!
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