Homeword bound

 

An early morning trip to the airpot through the heart of the city

Then up

And Away

Thanks for joining us - its been a great trip and we've got places we'd love to return to and spend more time.  Hmmmm.....

Last day in Rome

Well the Pope was in town so things were a bit constrained as to where we could vist.  We did get to the Colosseum and got to visit several of the hills of Rome.  

Tuesday morning I started the day with an early walk to the Spanish Steps

at the bottom of which I got to preparations for the Pope's arrival later that day. One lucky fireman was chosen to place a wreath on Mary's statue.  He was quite pleased with himself when he got down. 

 Then I heard chanting and saw a crowd forming so of I went.

No Pope - just a prelude

Got to commune with a bird and caught a few other sites before heading off to the main event of the day. 

One of ghte smart things we did was hire a driver for a few hours before we met our guide for the Colliseum.  He drove us around various parts of Rome hitting 4 of the 7 hills checking out some of the gardens,  and vistas and, yeah, a few more churches.

So much of Rome was about creating a legacy.  The afterlife itself seemed to be predicated in being remember. So lets build a cool tomb in Rome for myself. 

Or how about we create a space where we can entertain 50,000-80,000 spectators - they may hate me - but they'll have a good time and that's what they will remember. 

 In the following photo, the level where the people are standing was the floor of the colosseum.  The white stones you see behind them at about 10:00 oclock are the seats.  They had to be high enough up the that roaming lion wouldn't jump up and take a bite of you or your lunch.  When you came to the colosseum, you came for the day.   Now all the stuff that exposed in front of the floor was the where the magic happened.  They had trap doors and elevators so that elephants or gladiators could arrive in a poof through the floor..   The spectable must have been mind boggling. And where else would you get to see these mythical creatures from around the world.  Oh, yeah, and the gladiators and stuff.......

When it was built, it was covered in marble.  After the fall of Rome, anyone that was buidling their own place would send a few workers over and then scavange.  I forget the number of buildings it supplied, but can you imagine how this thing gleamed?

This is what it is believed it had looked like.

Oh yeah, and you need facilities for those 80,000 people - behold the latrine:

Then it was back to the hotel to start packing.

With a couple other stops:

 

Then off to dinner where the owner of the resaurant tried to trade my meal for my wife.  Hmm. 

Thank you Debra

 As I’ve  gotten older I’ve gotten even more “I don’t care what anybody thinks“ I noticed that most of the women in Rome were incredibly put together and dressed so well. On this cruise, I worr sweatpants and Slippers to all meals. We spoke to Debra yesterday and I mentioned these women so well dressed and then how I dressed. Debra said “who would want to be like them“ I love you, Debra. 

Additional Jewish Rome Photos

 Why Chickens?  Unlike beef, it was available. 

 Not Sephardic, not Ashkenazic, this is the Roman Style of dress for the Sefer Torah 

There was an extensive social support system (ties tzedakah to those chickens 

And the facade of one of the 5 churches surrounding the ghetto

 Note the Hebrew below the picture 

Italian Men

This is not a story about me but about Italian men. Fifty five years ago, I went to Rome with Dan While riding on some public vehicle. I can’t remember if it was a bus or train , Dan and I were holding onto the pole that keeps you from falling. A young man stepped in front of Dan and tried to pick me up. It was actually funny. Fast forward 55 years and here I am in Rome with David. We had a great dinner and when the maître De brought the check, he turned to David and said you could either pay the check or leave your wife with me and you don’t have to pay. Looks like Italian men haven’t changed it all in 55 years.

Devastation of Pompeii

Pretty no? 

A view of Mt Vesuvius as we left Naples.  The volcano seems peaceful now. 

This was a pretty shocking and eye opening day.  Feel unable to truly share it all but here are a few glimpses into the day.  While there had been several earthquakes in the years prior to the eruption, and while there were construction techniques in place to help mitigate that, people were unprepared for this explosion. 

 The eruption began around noon on what’s believed to be October 24, 79  For about 12 hours volcanic ash and pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii . People died from collapsing roofs under the weight of ash and volcanic debris, and from rocks falling from the sky. .

Early morning of Day 2 the most lethal pyroclastic current struck —approximately 19 hours after the initial eruption. This surge traveled at over 200 mph with temperatures exceeding 300°C, causing instant death for everyone remaining in Pompeii 

Most victims died of asphyxiation during these pyroclastic surges , rather than from the initial ashfall. The eruption itself lasted about two days total, but the critical deaths in Pompeii occurred within the first 24 hours. Six 6 meters (20 feet) of volcanic ash fell on the city. 

  These plaster cases capture some of the immediacy of those fatal moments 

Covering his face from the fumes

A sleeping family

And the family dog 

A dynamic vibrant city gone in a moment and pretty much remained buried under volcanic ash for approximately 1,670 years.  

The picture of life there is telling. 

The forum: center of activity for the city

One of the accommodations for earthquakes was building columns using bricks and whitewashing them. They tended to weather the vibrations better. 

 

Around the forum were the storerooms, Shops and food stalls

Here is a food stall with terracotta warming surface  

And a grooved track for a sliding door on a shop

And ceramic wine vessels

With their pointed ends making them easier to transport stuck into sand boxes. 

And bath houses and meeting spaces and homes and….

And if you were wealthy and wanted to warn off wood be thieves: 

You might install this 

Beware of Dog

Hot truck. Terracotta warming 

Beware of the dog 





Dino’s.