ROME
CELEBRATING
AVIV LEVY'S 50th BIRTHDAY
18
- 21 July 2018
Aviv finally finds out where he is
going
People react differently to birthdays
that end in "0." Aviv was delighted at the suggestion that his siblings
and parents take him overseas for a surprise weekend. He asked that the
destination be kept a secret. Somehow it was only when boarding the
plane that he realized that he was flying not to Croatia as he was lead
to believe but to Rome. He was delighted.
Our guidebook is old but still has valuable information about the
sights. Our three kids pose in Piazza Navona, built by
Domitian, the
brother of Titus. The buildings stand on what had been the grandstands
for spectacles. A major part of the holiday was reminiscing and
here Moran and Aviv bond with Pinochio.
No trip to Rome is complete without seeing the Arch of Titus. We
disussed it at length including that this is the last depiction of the
Menorah removed from the Second Temple destroyed by Titus. The Menorah
depicted in the arch is different from graffiti from that time in the
Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem which show the Menorah
standing, not on a sold base, but on three legs. The
children went on a tour of the Vatican and saw the Pope's
official rooms. They all remarked that his rooms were covered
with paintings by Rafael, including a menorah with three legs.
The Colosseum was built by Titus and is impressive even today. We
wondered how many Jewish slaves and what treasures went to build this
massive site.
We stand in the light streaming from the oculus of the Pantheon only
later seeing that we had been standing with saint Anthony!
Travelling with children is different
from when we travel alone. We remarked that had we been alone we would
have seen theTrevi Fountain, read about it, taken a picture or two and
continued. But this time we absorbed the atmosphere and just enjoyed
the fountain. It seems thousands of euros are thrown into the fountain
daily, which explains the heavy police presence there. The money is
donated to charities. We throw a coin into the fountain to assure
they return to Rome. It's a pity that one can't stand in the water, as
then we could say "three Cohens in the fountain...."
An important aspect was Italian cooking. On
the left we are at AL34 our
favourite restaurant and waiter. Italy without pizza?
