Upon arriving at the coliseum I was taken back from the beauty of such a magnificent structure. I have seen many pictures, as most of us have, but nothing compares to seeing and touching something as well known as the coliseum in person. The stone is thick and worn with age, yet it still maintains some roughness to it. The arcs are so high, if you are not careful enough you may miss the engravings telling you  which numbered arc you are passing through. Inside, the steps to the second floor are steeper than any step I’ve ever climbed before yet  extremely small in width. The edges are worn from centuries of shoes stomping on them. If you can keep your balance while walking up, which I certainly struggled with as I was keen on taking pictures, look across the steps and you will notice the indentations from where the heaviest traffic flows have worn on the steps causing them to ripple like water.

The views looking into the bottom of the coliseum is almost perfectly symmetrical. You can see the long strait path through the center connecting the two ends as well as the tall block walls that are shaped to form the straight line back into a circle again. Trying to imagine there was once animals such as lions and tigers kept in these cells is almost impossible for me. When I think of animal captivates I immediately picture our zoos and how far away they try and keep the animals away from you with ditches and glass and many many barriers. Then I try and picture someone willing to fight such a beast and still think it hard to do. However, it was done and this is where it happened. Where thousands lost their life not only to animals but to other human beings as well.

The coliseum at night is a sight worth seeing. With a yellow glow from within tourists continue to form a line around its base just waiting to get in to this wondrous building. Pictures do not do this building justice, never will the coliseum be just a picture to me again.