it was july 22 2008 

due to the fact that rome has many very impressive sites, i have broken down this one day and yes if you can believe it, we did do this all in one day into several posts. doing it this way allows me to go into more depth about each site so you can more fully enjoy the greatness of rome.

we started the whirlwind tour of rome by heading into the ruins at palatine hill and the roman forum. this area is like an outdoor park complete with lush greenery and park benches, but more importantly there is an entire town of ruins. there are some semi-preserved homes which you can enter and see inside. wander amongst the ruins and your imagination just begins to run wild with ideas of how the place would have looked in it's glory, with people bustling all about. you can spend hours in the ruins just enjoying the hidden treasures like rows of fruit trees, secret rooms, and even little waterfalls. i was struck time and time again with how incredible it is that these ruins and the colosseum are located in a busy modern city. i love how the old and new are in harmony in rome. the history of the city is alive, it is this incredible ancient city within a city which is truly unique.