I'm back!

It is so nice to be back in England. I have really missed it during my two-week travels. But I have gotten to see some awesome things, which I am going to share with you! 

 First, however, let me recap where I have been.

 This map shows where I started and ended my trip. As you can see, I have been in a lot of different countries! In Europe, the countries are very close together, kind of like our states. The red dots show where I stopped and spent time, and the purple arrows show the direction of my route.

My first stop outside of England was Rome, Italy. Gordon and I hung out at the Colosseum for a while. It was so very neat to see this, as it is a structure you see  a lot in movies (or even on pizza boxes!) And it's really old! Construction began in 72 AD, which means it is just less than 2000 years old!

 As you can imagine, a building that old can't be in very good shape. The outside of the Colosseum is still standing, but parts of the inside are really in ruins.

 The Colosseum was essentially the very first sports arena...only they weren't watching football or hockey here! The Romans used the Colosseum for theatrical performances. They would flood the center of the arena and re-enact sea battles or stories from mythology. Of course, we cannot forget the "main events":  gladiator battles. 

 The Roman emperors used the Colosseum as a way to keep control of their government. Seats in the arena were very cheap, so the poor could afford to come. The emperors felt that if the streets were free of poor and homeless people wandering around during the day, then the crime rate would be lower. They were right.

 The Colosseum is just one of many places to see in Rome--a lot of which are in ruins, too! Remember, the Romans essentially ruled the world for almost 1000 years. They were a very powerful people with lots of important leaders and thinkers--a lot of what we have today can be traced back to Roman life. The Romans even had running water, which is truly a remarkable thing considering that even in the early 1900s, people in America were living without running water.

 That is it for the Colosseum. I hope you all had a nice Easter! I am so happy to be able to post again, so I will have another post ready for you tomorrow. Ciao!