Daughter Jennifer standing by Julius Caesar’s funeral pyre

Our walking tour of the Forum/Coliseum ended with the heavens literally opening up and pouring down heavy sheets of rain upon us.

And there we were under our collective umbrellas trying to listen to the tour guide as he explained how slaves operated the colosseums awning.

Looking back now, it was all very surreal.

There I was, in the colosseum, shivering under my now broken umbrella, thinking to myself I can’t believe this is happening.

We were standing in the middle of the colosseum in a thunderstorm holding up wiry umbrellas.

According to WIKI, the most famous ancient battle cry before your impending death went like this:

“Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant” or “Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant”

Or in English:

“Hail, Emperor (Caesar), those who are about to die salute you”.

However, in our case the battle cry was:

“We, who are about to die by lightning bolts from standing here under umbrellas made from metal, in the middle of the colosseum in a thunderstorm like a bunch of dummies… Salute you!”

Yes, it was that bad.

“Excuse me…,” I heard a voice call out in a loud voice trying to be heard over the thunder storm…

Looking up from under my umbrella I saw that it was my husband Frank who was trying to get the tour guide’s attention.

“I think now would be a good time to end the tour,”

…. he said as we continued to get pummelled with heavy rain pellets.

Everyone agreed and we all summarily scattered like rats and ran for shelter.

This is the time that I realized how very big the Colosseum was. We were literally in the middle of an arena larger than a football field and it was a long way to the nearest shelter.

But we made it.

As soon as we entered the colosseum’s walls and were out of the storm we all began to shake ourselves out like wet little puppies.

After catching our breath, we headed towards the stoney stairs which were now packed with throngs of other wet tourists.

After finally reaching the exit, we began to make our way back.

Now between the Colosseum and our hotel was a wonderful little Italian restaurant where we dined on night that we arrived in Rome.

By this point the rain had slowed, thankfully.

We chose a table outdoors underneath the tent right next to a portable space heater which would help dry us off and warm-up.

We ordered large quantities of comfort food and wine and then sat back reflecting on our recent adventure.

And look who came to join us:

The question was…

Is this bird hungry or just happy to be out of the rain?

Either way, this curious little bird brought us joy and we immediately forgot how wet and cold we were.

And it was at that precise moment I happily remembered…

That, here we are in Rome…

….. Saluting our Roman dreams!

The first time we visited the Forum, the Curia was not open to the public.

All the documentaries, and guide books said that it was open, but sadly, we were met by locked doors and caution tape.

I really hate it when that happens.

Perhaps, more than anything else, Frank and I wanted to see what the interior looked like.

After all, the Curia was the formal seat of government for the Roman empire. Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony were all familiar with it, and had been within it’s walls.

Not being able to see the interior ourselves was a great disappointment for us and particularly Frank, who is very buff on Roman history.

Granted, the tour guide did let it be known that up to 90% of the building itself had been heavily renovated. Nevertheless, it’s a good piece of insight to see it for yourself.

I’ve learned that it’s very challenging to go sightseeing walking tour during a rainstorm.

You tend to keep your head down and look at your feet a lot.

Your head and shoulders are covered with an umbrella so you don’t have much of the peripheral vision.

It’s unfortunate, but even in the rain, the forum has a certain ambiance.

This takes takes me back several decades to when my children were small.

We had the good fortune to be able to take them to Disney world several times when they were young.

And of course, it’s inevitable that eventually you learn that yes, the rain does fall, even on Walt Disney World.

However I was very impressed at how quickly the rain ponchos an umbrella kiosks were set up. Talk about magic, in the Magic Kingdom.

I would say that they were all up and running in less than three minutes.

And it was most insightful running from Disney pavilion to Disney to pavilion trying to dodge the raindrops and being utterly mystified as to how Mother Nature can actually allow a rain storm at Walt Disney World. After all, I never once saw a brochure of Cinderella’s castle being battered by rain.

And the same goes for Rome.

Rain happens…

And so, there was an ongoing curiosity about what the interior of the Curia really looked like.

Did it still have the benches that the orators spoke from?

Were there Disney-like replicas of the senators arguing the merits of Roman law?

Frank and I were determined to find out.

As we entered the forum grounds, Frank mentioned his interest in the Curia to our tour guide. The tour guide replied that that the Curia was not one of the points of interest featured on the tour.

Frank said nothing more as the rain continued to drizzle down.

My thoughts were turning back to a warm bed and dry feet as I kept trudging forward through the Roman mud.

Suddenly, we were at the base of a staircase and being led into a building.

Curious, I lowered my umbrella to look and see exactly what building we were entering.

The moment that I stepped over the threshold, it finally dawned upon me where we were.

The Curia!

Thank you Mr. Tour Guide!

However, looking around, upon this realization, I underwent a culture shock of sorts.

Let me explain:

I had imagined the interior of the Curia either as a work in progress construction site, or a replica of what it actually looked like back in Caesar’s era.

Instead, what I was looking at was a tres chic Art Deco featuring the modern day art of Ancient Roman times with ambient lighting any interior decorator would die for.

This place was incredible!

A couple of tables, chairs and mood lamps and a bar and you’ve got a gathering place the likes which has never been seen before.

Certainly, this was better than anything I’ve seen back at home.

Leave it to the Italians to take one of the oldest, and most abused and renovated building and turn it into as Joni Mitchell likes to say…

A swinging hot spot!

We were met with a light rain as we walked out of our hotel. It was our sixth day in Rome and this was the first rain we had seen on our trip. The rain had brought cooler weather, which after the usual ninety degree heat, was a relief for us.

I was confident that we would be able to purchase some umbrellas at one of the many kiosks which lined the narrow cobbled streets.

And sure enough, within ten minutes I was sporting a small yellow umbrella, and my husband a blue one.

It was when we passed some significant ruins close to the forum that we noticed two burly gladiators taking refuge from the rain in a covered doorway.

These gladiators, of course were men dressed in gladiator costumes. They make their living by posing with tourists who are eager to have their pictures taken with ferocious looking killers.

These, and other interesting characters can be easily found near the forum, coliseum, and other historically significant sites.

The cost to have a picture taken with them is around ten euros, which then, came to about fourteen dollars.

I could feel the poor gladiators discontent as we approached. Clearly, the rain was putting a damper on business.

We had just barely passed them when we heard a gladiator loudly address us from behind.

“Picture with your wife for seven euros,” he yelled at us. The resourceful chap had dropped the price on account of the rain. No doubt, was hoping we would jump at the chance to save three euros.

We did not stop, nor did we look back.

After a few moments, seeing that we were not interested, he snarled out his final offer to my husband.

…..“Five euros for a picture,”

Silence.

…..”and I’ll kill your wife for free.”