Roads We Travel Mystery Cache

(N 44 and W 81 are inferred)

They say all roads lead to Rome. Since there are no roads from Canada we had to take an airplane. In fact we took 2 flights. We wanted a stop over in Edinburgh, Scotland first because there is no place like Edinburgh! Then we took the 2nd flight over to Roma. The stop over was a great idea to break up the travel time but it was still a long flight.

Finally we made it to Italy and found a taxi to take us into the old historic part of the city. Our first glimpse of Italy ~ Wow, how beautiful! Our driver got lost on the roads trying to find our hotel but we eventually got there. This detour gave us a nice little tour of the city. The hotel is a tiny 3 floored brick building on a section of little circle roads, a round grid shape, that hugs a tiny neighbourhood beside the colosseum. And Yes! All roads do seem to lead to Rome. There are roads everywhere. Luckily we planned to walk to all the sights or we would be really lost in the busy city trying to navigate our way around. As it turned out it was not until the 4th time we walked around the colosseum we finally found the correct line to stand in - way too many people here. One Earthcache we found around the colosseum had everything to do with how stable the roads are, the type of dirt the cobble stones are built on and why the colosseum collapsed more on one side than the other. It is difficult to imagine the old Roman horse & two wheeled carriages navigating these cobble stone roads in ancient times because the roads are so uneven that some of the square brick/stones imbedded into the sand stand so proud of the others, about 4 inches taller.

One gets an impression of the colosseum after seeing it in so many photographs but to be there in person - the colosseum is SO big and impressive. One thing I did not imagine was the colosseum surrounded by so many roads and modern buildings. I always thought it was in the middle of a field. We purchased special tickets to enter under the wooden stage with a tour guide. The dirt roads leading us underground here led us directly to where the old elevator and trap doors are located in the corner.  Ferocious animals and wild gladiators enter the arena from this secret area. Eight men were needed to turn the wooden shaft allowing the special roads to be lifted up to the level of the stage, each section capable of carrying over 600 pounds. Imagine the deafening roar of the crowds growing louder with every fight.

After the visit to the colosseum, we headed down the old Roman roads toward the Roman Forum. This is a really neat area full of many ancient ruins. It is the centre of the Roman Empire.  We passed the Temple of Julius Caesar dating from 42 BCE and the Temple of Saturn, the oldest surviving structure in the area, dating from 500 BCE. We tried to imagine what the area would have looked like with the brightly coloured painted buildings, the fountains, and the statues. What an overwhelming feeling to think the ancient Romans walked the roads we are standing on today: the senators, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Hadrian, Trajan, Spartacus, etc. We spent a great deal of time walking on the beautiful now soft grass roads at the House of the Vestals behind the Temple of Vestals. This is one of the most sacred roads in all of Italy and home to the Vestal Virgins.

Afterwards, we headed out for some lunch. Four restaurants interested us. One sold sandwiches (mostly a variety of ham sandwiches) and three had pasta. All roads lead to Rome and all roads tend to also lead to pasta and ham! We definitely are getting our fill of pasta this trip! And I hate ham! Roads to more variety would be wonderful in the future.

One interesting thing about Roma is their system of roads. There are ring roads that circle the entire city just like the small grid system around the neighbourhood where our hotel is.

If we were to ever drive on these Roma roads, I think we would have a heck of a time. Not only does Roma have the worse congested roads in Europe but also these drivers are mad. We did need the car for part of our trip but we planned well. Roads ring A would take us to our destination but we ended up on Roads ring B, 20 miles out of our way even with a map! Well, it was certainly an adventurous weekend in Roma.

Once our weekend was over and we were done touring the outer parts of this enormous city we headed further afield...

...this time in Venezia. There are 2 kinds of roads here. Roads called water canals are the first kind. The water taxis (vaporetti) are large bus boats that transport people on a regular route on the largest of the water canals - The Grand Canal. The Grand Canal snakes its way throughout the main island of Venezia and is so wide the vaporetti alternate sides to stop on these roads to pick up more people. The Gondola ride is for a leisurely more private cruise on the smaller roads - the smaller canals. The second type of transportation in Venezia happens on the sinking roads - the tiny alleyways between buildings - on foot. Many of these pretty, narrow, uneven bricked roads are covered with mini-foot bridges and make the entire island very photogenic. Another place you need a good map at all times is in Venezia but only if you want to keep all the roads straight. We like to have fun getting lost so we wander quite a bit.

We travel on many different kinds of roads making our vacations interesting. Some of these roads we will never forget because of the memories made on them. And when “All roads lead to Rome” you have to give this kind of vacation a try at least once!

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