I'm writing in my quaint little room on the 7th (and top) floor of this apartment building. I was offered the bottom floor because I looked rich (I was wearing my copper tunic). You see, in the Roman Empire, the richer people lived on the 1st and 2nd floors and the poorer people lived higher up. In other words, the poorer you were, the higher you lived. This way, the rich (er) people didn't have to climb as many stairs.
I didn't want to be on the bottom floor next to the street. I would rather have been on the seventh floor with a grand panorama of the town. And that is what I got.
The single room of my lodging now contains a bed I bought at the market. It's made of wooden slats covered with a sheepskin. There are no toilets or sinks, obviously. I also bought some cushions to seat me while I eat.
I have a small garden outside of my room. Many plants have already been planted. I think they're mostly herbs, but I'm not sure.
It's really hot for April. I'm going to the baths. On the way back I'll collect some water at the public fountains.
X AM
Wow! The baths are out-of-this-world! Well, they are out-of-this-time! The baths have about 10 rooms. I'll describe the main ones.
The first room is a gym. Naked men wre running around a track and lifting weights. The next room is a humid, hot room. Slaves were smoothing oil over their owners' bodies. The next room is a hot, dry room. A huge pool of water is in the middle. The water is so-oooo hot!!!
The next room is very cold. The water's freezing too. Last, there's a room where slaves scrape oil and sweat off their owners.
I had heard great things about the baths, but nothing prepared me for that!
On my way home, I stopped at the public fountain for some water.
Fact of the Day
When the aquaduct brings water into the city, the water splits and flows through 3 pipes. One leads to the homes of the rich, another to the baths, and the last to the public fountains. In times of drought, the pipe to the homes of the rich is blocked off first, then the baths, and finally, the public fountains. This way, the public has their water available as long as possible. Hannah