Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Italy - Part Three

Holy gaps between posts! Lots happening, but let's get on with this Italy theme. You'll recall (and if you don't you can scroll down to catch up...) that we didn't do much the day we arrived in Italy, then booked a guided tour to Naples and Pompeii the first full day we were there. By the next day Amy was getting a cold. She wasn't feeling too well but was determined to see the sights. We decided to walk down to the Colosseum to see what all the fuss was about.


This was taken by setting my camera on a nearby post and setting the timer. We're in front of the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum. Walking around in Rome is very surreal. I've seen pictures of these places all my life, and to finally be close enough to reach out and touch these things is pretty cool. We wanted to take a tour of the Colosseum, but the day was a bit colder and there was a line. We opted for the 5 cent tour of the outside.


After our quick walk around the Colosseum we meandered our way back to the hotel. Of course we stopped at all the little tourist souvenir shops. I noticed a cooler gladiator helmet in one of the stores and had to test it out. The thing was covered in some kind of oil or grease. I wasn't sure if that was to keep it from rusting or to act as a theft deterrent.


With Amy resting up at the hotel I decided later that night to go for a walk around the city. This shuttle bus drove past me as I got near the Colosseum, so I ran up to the stoplight to get a better picture. The snapshot still turned out a bit blurry, but you get the idea. I thought it looked pretty cool.


I've also played around with my camera and took these next few of pictures with the longer shutter speed. I headed back to the hotel to rest up for a more in depth tour the next day.