Day 3: Colosseo, Trajan's Column and Markets and the Forum of Augustus

I know that my day 3 and 4 are late, but better later than never... As the title of this post indicates, day 3 was an extremely busy, but enjoyable day. It was a very early start with a 45 minute walk to the Colosseum which was a real struggle in the freezing cold of Rome's early morning!!

It's very cliche, but nothing could prepare me for just how huge and amazing the Colosseum actually is in real life... It was visible from a very long way away, with the sun shining on it as we approached it, definitely a magical moment... We had a very brief tour of the amphitheatre and I had the chance to do my second (and final!) speech of the trip. The best part was the fact that I again had a rock to stand on and speak from! The experience we had in the Colosseum is one that I can hardly explain for how amazing it was, we went down onto the field, seeing the labyrinth on the grounds. The best part was definitely ascending to the highest remaining level and having the amazing view over Rome, with landmarks such as the Arch of Constantine and the Arch of Titus, forum and Trajan's column in this distance. It was astounding seeing the views of Ancient Rome, basically at my feet. It's safe to say that I definitely had a moment of zen standing on the Colosseum. It really made me realise that Romans were real, and I reflected on the horrible, but extremely important events of history that happened in that arena.

After our brief tour and my moment of zen, we were off walking again, this time to Trajan's column and markets for a museum visit. After listening to a couple of presentations and surveying the mighty and very impressive column (which is much bigger than you anticipate), we visited a museum that was specifically for the the markets of Trajan and the various imperial fora in the area (Forum of Augustus, Trajan, Nerva etc.). The museum's contents were not particularly enthralling as it is a mix of modern art combined with ancient artefacts. However, the museum itself was amazing as it was actually a building from Trajan's markets. That was definitely another special moment. After our visit to the market and column we were off walking, yet again!! This time we walked to the Forum of Rome.

Again, there was something crazily surreal about entering the forum, especially the senate house. The fact that such an important building for history still stands and is in very good condition was just so special. Standing inside was definitely a moment to reflect on what I am studying and why. It all came to life upon realising that all the Romans I have learnt about once stood exactly where I was standing, a very surreal moment. The rest of the forum was amazing as well, the highlight was walking to the very top of the Palatine Hill and seeing the sights of Rome. There are just so many things I wish I could detail, the whole day was magical, that side of Rome has so many sights that it is actually impossible to know what to take in and what to ignore, or at least, save for later.

The final exciting part of the day was seeing the Arch of Titus up so close. As it was a work of Domitian I am of course slightly biased towards it, but I believe that it is a truly beautiful monument for the memory of someone well loved by his people and evidently by his remaining family.

Part 4 and 5 will be uploaded very soon. Attached are some pictures of this exciting day!!