Traveler at the Collosseum

A big day today!
First off Tony took us all to The French Academy in the Medici Palace. Tony was good friends with the artist, Balthus, who ran the academy at one time. Tony used to go and visit with Balthus here so he had some great memories to share.

Here is a neat statue of a tree with rocks in it. I told Sally to stand underneath it for a photo. "Okay now shake the tree a little bit, Sally!"

I loved the peaceful gardens we wandered through...
Then, it was off to the Colosseum! What a place!

We took a guided tour. "I am Spartacus!"

It is amazing inside. Just like modern arenas. 60,000 people could be seated within 10 minutes! In fact, the word Arena comes from the Roman word for "sand". Sand was used on the Colosseum floor to soak up the blood. It is estimated that at least 700,000 people were killed in the arena, as well as countless animals.

Look closely, this is graffiti left by spectators. It depicts a Gladiator and a lion.

This is a skull of a horse who died in the Colosseum in the 4th or 5th century. I wish the Girls had been around then to save him... This would have been under the floor, animals and people used these corridors to get around and into place. It must have been very frightening underneath here. In fact, the Colosseum must have been a terrifying place for those who were to be used as "entertainment".
They must have seen this same sky as they entered the arena where they were to be killed...

We came across a Roman cat inside the Colosseum, I named him Gladiator. The Girls fed him some of their sandwich.
Notice how Sally is holding me? If Jill didn't keep an eye on me, who knows where she would drop me!

Later that day, I got a new collar and some Roman charms.

Then I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain. Throwing in coins ensures that I will return to Rome someday...