May 23

San Gregorio in Caelio
San Gregorio in Caelio Monastery courtyard

Roman Forum
orange tree on the Palatine hill
Owen getting some rest at the Colosseum
all of us inside the Colosseum

After opening up a birthday gift from Abram and Owen (who announced, “I have a pretty necklace,” as he handed me the box), this morning we made our way to the Colosseum - I mean Flavian Amphitheater – where we decided to pass on the long line and then to the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. We had intended to do a walk from a book we brought but it proved too difficult as many areas seem to be closed (though they seem to be open at other times). It was very sunny, hot, dry, and dusty. Did I mention that it was dusty? These places take a LOT of imagination, and I was glad when we headed out for some lunch. Owen got a nap in the sling as we walked by the Imperial Fora across the street from the Roman Forum – you know how malls go out of fashion and new ones get built, right? There’s nothing new under the sun, they say. Then we headed back to the now less busy Colosseum with our combination tickets. After Owen woke up, he enjoyed running around and looking out from way up high.
Then we caught a bus over to Trastevere which means “across the Tiber” river. We successfully did another walk from the same book and enjoyed the bohemian side of town. We noticed lots of children with families and lots of children at restaurants – something we have seen very little of here. People have mostly been very polite and playful with Owen at restaurants, but they are just not set up for kids at all – poor little thing has to stand up to eat because almost no one has booster seats or high chairs. I digress. We saw a building that onced housed a secret synagogue, numerous churches, and Santa Maria in Trastevere, the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The current building, started in the 12th century, is really interesting. It has hundreds of very early Christian monuments and some statues included in its facade – just sort of stuck to the wall and plastered around – whole or broken. A quick bus and metro ride back, and we were ready for showers to wash off that dust and bed.