Today
was our tour of the Colosseum and Lyle managed to get us from our hotel
to the Colosseum Metro station fairly easily. Our first glimpse of the
Colosseum was amazing. It is an awesome architectural structure and
although it is now only a ruin of its former glory, it was exciting for
us just to be there. Unfortunately, our guide today seemed a little
inexperienced and her English was difficult to understand. Nevertheless,
Lyle and I were both thrilled to be standing in the midst of so much
history.
I found the walking and the steps on the tour today
quite strenuous. The pavement was very uneven and some of the walkways
were irregular stones. The stairs were very steep. The elevator on the
one level was not working and our guide ignored the second elevator
completely. She rushed ahead from one interest point to another and my
white cane might as well have been invisible.
However, one of
our tour members showed an almost overwhelming concern for me. Perhaps
she thought Lyle was neglecting me because she insisted on taking my arm
in an almost vice-like grip on several downward flights of stairs. I
found this very unnerving. I am never sure how to respond to this type
of uncalled for assistance.
Now we are back at our hotel and I
had to laugh when we read an email from my friend, Jean. She reminded me
of the importance of constant hand washing when travelling. Well, after
the excursion this morning I scrubbed my hands almost to the elbows.
During the morning I had held on to so many dirty and sticky handrails, I
was glad I could not see what I was touching.
Tomorrow we catch
the train to Sorrrento. I hope the fine weather here continues. From
what we read on the internet, we are missing some heavy snow in the
forecast back home.
Just finished reading all the last posts. Yes Rome is so interesting with all the history. Hope you continue to have good weather. We are to get 20 cm. of snow this weekend!
ReplyDeleteDorothy