"Roma is a Lasagna"

Hello from Italy!

The system of updating you with a story caption under each picture seemed to work very well last week so that's what I will do again! After an entire day of traveling yesterday that lasted for me from 4:50am to midnight and for Mackenzie from late Friday night until last night at midnight, we can finally say that we are in Rome doing as the Romans do :) Today's adventures took us to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Arco di Constantino, the Arco di Tiberio, and the Gran Caffe Roma where we ate margherita pizza and real Italian gelato. Since a picture is worth a thousand words....

Selfie at the Colosseum! Mackenzie is in awe of the summer weather here...today was about 75 degrees and sunny without a cloud in the sky! 

The inside arena of the Colosseum...unfortunately, they were not letting people down into the underground vaults, but we were able to go on the first two levels and look around. 

The view from up on the second level. We bought tickets outside the Colosseum for a guided tour of both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, and the price was definitely worth it...I would have paid a little extra just to skip the 3 hour long line to get into the Colosseum, nevermind the fact that we got two tours for the price of one. 

The treacherous steps up to the second level of the Colosseum. Mackenzie and I moved at turtle pace for this ultimate stair master challenge :)

The original Roman cobblestones leading from the Colosseum to the Arco di Tiberio; apparently the Romans were ahead of their time when it came to building roads that would last. 

The Arco di Tiberio. The sculptures on this monument were terrific; Israel is even using one of the scenes that includes a menorah as their official passport stamp. 

Inside the Roman Forum, the center hub of Ancient Rome where the market and all the public meetings were held. 

The Foro Romano (Roman Forum) including some beautiful gardens amidst the rubble from the original Roman columns and structures. 

The scene was just too beautiful not to get a couple individual pictures.

The view from the second floor of the Colosseum looking out on the Palatine Hill. Just on the other side of the Palatine Hill is the valley that holds the Foro Romano.

A statue depicting the legend of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

Mackenzie freaking out over an authentic Italian margherita pizza at the Gran Caffe Roma!

Tomorrow promises an exciting day visiting the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel so look for more pictures documenting our adventures tomorrow!

Cheers from Mackenzie and Megan!

P.S.  Our tour guide today proclaimed that "Roma is a Lasagna!" and we thought that would make a great blog title, but it does need some explaining...When archeologists starting excavating in the early 20th century to uncover the valley which held the Foro Romano, they had to dig through 8 layers of lime-filled sediment that had washed into the valley with the flooding of the Tiber River.  Normally, the expression goes that "Rome is a cake" with all it's layers, but since pasta is a staple food group to the Italians, our tour guide, who was aptly named Tiberio, declared that Roma is instead a lasagna. :)