Back in Time

Bright and early Monday morning - and we are up and dressed and eating our breakfasts in a wonderful salon. These rooms are large and gracious. Truly how the better half lived many many years ago. Thanks to the meticulous work of film makers, I can actually picture the crowded room filled with supplicants and busy courtiers all attending on the various persons of authority or influence.

    The experience is so not North American and for me a return to my childhood. When I was eleven we took a trip to meet all my father's family. We travelled all over, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Weisbaden, Austria, Lichtenstein and my family's home town of Ludenscheid. Being here in Rome alot of those experiences return to me. The amazing proportions of buildings - huge rooms, tiny streets, beautiful and old everywhere regardless of whether or not it's a souvenir shop or an haute couture salon. The salepeoples are impecably dressed, the stores elegant in their displays. Even a street vendor trys to display their wares in as attractive a way as they can. And the food. Breakfasts are served with meat and cheese, hard boiled eggs and various pastries and melba toast. Lunch is filling but quick. And a good restaurant won't open until 8pm for dinner. It's a gracious end to the day. So today I begin to feel a little European again.

   Today we separate into two pairs. Miriam and her father tour around the streets and visit the Sant Angelo before hailing a taxi to take them to Gladiator School. Run by the historical society, my daughter was taught 5 different ways to attack and defend herself with  short sword. She was dressed in a tunic and helmet and at the end won the respect of her instructor for listening and doing better than the other children. So here I am bragging about my kid's progress at "school". LOL

The statue of Marcus Auruleius, my favorite Roman.

    Arthur and I went back to ancient Rome. This time our tour was on a segway, those personal transport devices. they are great. Because our tour was on a quiet monday morning we were the only two and we had a blast. The guide tailored her talk to what we were interested in and what we'd already seen. And again as we travelled along the streets we started to belong a little to life in Rome. We went along streets filled not with hundreds of tourists but instead school children and old grandmothers. We passed along  the cobble-stoned narrow lanes and the sun was strong and the breeze perfect. And I learned an essential survival trick - to stop cars you wave madly and they halt - letting you cross the streets but you look crazy doing it - waving frantically and yelling gracie gracie.  This time I saw some of the forum from a new angle and after studying my souvenir book from the day before, this time I actually found myself oriented. Now I could imagine Marcus Auruleius and Sulla walking along the Via Sacra discussing whether Sulla should raid the temple of Saturn and the treasury beneath in order to pay for the wheat they had to import to feed the citizens of Rome. And it was good.

    The afternoon saw the four of us reunited and we enjoyed a half hour 3D movie depicting the history of Rome from Romulous and Remus being left in the forest with wolves, through the assisignation of Julius Ceasar by Brutus et al, and on to Nero burning the city,the death of Saint Peter and then onwards to Mussolini creating the world's smallest independant state the Vatican. History 101 for kids. I didn't care – because a little of it stuck in my children's brains.
That evening we strolled along a wide street , the guys one way eating a gelato, and us girls doing a little shopping in some nice stores before meeting up again for a pleasant dinner at a quiet restaurant. The waiter was wonderful and helpful and we enjoyed ourselves eating veal and lava cake and drinking chianti. Walking home Miriam learned a valuable lesson. Wearing shoes because they look good means you might end up with sore feet. And if you're sweet enough and cute you might persuade a man to rescue you - namely her father who piggy-backed her all the way back to the hotel.
Thank goodness we can sleep in tomorrow – we need it after all of today's excitement.