A Terrible Thing Happened on the Way to the Colosseum

There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, worse than getting a "low battery" signal flashing on your camera as you're beginning to take some pictures at the Forum in Rome, except the signal seeming to be more insistent at the Colosseum.  I found myself pining for one of those kitschy souvenir places so I could buy a ridiculously overpriced camera.  Kitschy souvenir places, yes; cameras, no.

Still, I managed to get a few shots of a place that holds such strange and wonderful appeal and fascination, sadness and awe.  What struck me first was my initial ridiculous first impression of the place as I quickly bemoaned how much I have been influenced by Hollywood.  What do you mean the Colosseum doesn't look like the one in The Gladiator?  I smacked myself upside the head and continued with my audiotour, taking deep breaths as people struck cutesy poses and flashed peace signs.  Seriously?

How can one give an impression of the Colosseum?  One doesn't.  It is astonishing.  Not so much the size, though, yes, the size.  Not so much the history, though, yes, the history.  The magnitude is breathtaking.  The way the Italians have managed to preserve it and yet appeal to the need for people to buy absurd souvenirs may be the most amazing thing.  The ridiculousness of men dressed as Roman soldiers with the occasional Roman Caesar was to be expected.  That people got their pictures and left the individual without leaving a tip was also not surprising, though seeing a Roman solider chase after a young Asian couple, hand outstretched, shouting "Tips! Tips!" was a bit unsettling and undecorous.

I explored a lot after I left the Colosseum.  I am surprised by how compact much of Rome seems to be.  Getting my bearings has been difficult because there are no particularly tall buildings and all of the buildings are close together with the twisy maze of streets that often seem to have no distinction.

I happened upon the Teatro di Marcello and was amazed it was just at an intersection of two main streets.  I'm sure the streets were built with respect--and I mean that in the denotative sense of the word--toward the edifice and its history.  This clearly doesn't get nearly as much attention as the Colosseum or other famous buildings in Rome.  Still, it was an impressive place to visit and explore.  And because I was close, I explored the Roman Ghetto.

Now this was a striking experience.  To be in the Colosseum in the morning and the Roman Ghetto in the afternoon.  There isn't much to the Ghetto any more, of course.  It's history is an interesting one, emotionally charged for many; an historical footnote for others.  To me, however, it was more than simply seeing such a marvelous edifice as a temple rather than a church, but have some small sesnse of the remarkable history of Judaism and Christianity, especially as it intersected with such profound historical import in Rome.

A few random observations:

• Romans, perhaps Italians, do not really drink a lot of coffee.  The "American" coffee I've had so far has not been great; not strong enough for me and there are no free refills.
• There is no rush at a restaurant.  In fact, it is possible to be ignored with the utmost politeness for at least an hour as one dawdles over a coffee or a glass of wine or a glass of mineral water.  But the slightest movement that one is interested in something else or leaving could mean prompt attention.  So one learns one is not being ignored so much as left alone.  There are a few servers in the States I'd like to introduce to this Roman style of service.
• I was warned that Romans do not like to give change.  This is absolute truth.  If you do not have exact change, and often you will not, plan to apologize profusely unless you are at a grocery store or ticket office in which case they seem to be slightly more accommodating.  Otherwise there will be much muttering and tsking as the individual makes a grand show of doing you an incomparable service as to make change.  Never mind that you could have taken your business elsewhere.  Matters not.
• The local grocery store/market near the Pantheon is much like the streets of Rome in that the aisles are narrow and twisty.  Some things are in strange little alcoves.  Though it is small, one can get a little lost in this grocery store.  Americans will be amazed and humbled by this grocery store.  It reminds me of independent grocers in small towns in America.
• "Service" is often included, but the wait staff expects to be tipped, though perhaps more so at the holidays, by Americans, and not necessarily in that order.
• There are innumerable small cafes/restaurants.  I cannot imagine how they stay in business.
• Many of the shops on these crazy streets are about 8 x 8, some even smaller.  I've seen a few that are maybe 4' wide--the width of the door and maybe a hand or two--and quite long.
• "Piazza" has nothing to do with size or what's in/on it because there are some really tiny spaces called "Piazza"
• As noted by Matters of Taste, there are several shops with all things sacred, or sacred-looking, including clothing and accoutrements--briefcase, cell phone holder, etc.--for the well-dressed nun or priest.