Rome

We had a full day of touring the main sites of Rome ahead of us today.

Outside the Colosseum

We wanted to get an early start for the Colosseum so we awoke by 7AM to have breakfast in our hotel, where we had the best eggs we'd had in a week (actually seasoned, unlike Disney's), bacon, and pastries. Rebecca also enjoyed the hot chocolate and J. R. had several espressos. The Colosseum was a short walk from our hotel so we made our way down there. We arrived in advance of the 8:30 opening time but it took us awhile to find our way down from the road we walked in on.

Colosseum Tour

Once in front of the imposing structure, we began searching for the ticket line. We encountered a person who appeared to be offical information who directed us to the ticket line, but it turned out he was a tour company official selling a tour. But after hearing his spiel and seeing the wait time was already an hour to buy tickets, we agreed to take the tour, especially since it included the Roman Forum, which was our next stop. At 30 EUR per person, it was only 12 EUR more than the regular tickets and we were able to skip the line. Our tour guide was very informative and we were glad we spent the money as she told us a lot of things about the building, the restoration efforts, what it was used for, etc. that we would not have learned just by reading the signs.

Arch of Constantine

After our tour, we were given over an hour of free time to explore the Colosseum on our own. We didn't need that much time, so we headed out and found a small cafe near the Metro station where Rebecca got a coffee drink and J. R. had a beer while Janie stayed with her Coke Light. We returned to the Colosseum area and sat near the Arch of Constantine, erected in 312 to commemorate Constantine I's victory of Maxentius. It was here that we decided we had already seen about all we needed to see of Rome. We could not go more than a few moments without someone trying to get us to buy a bottle of water, or an umbrella, or a selfie stick, or a fan or some other item. Some of these vendors were quite aggressive, trying to get you to shake their hands so they could grab you, or trying to force items into your hand and make you pay for them. We watched one vendor following a young girl trying to get her to buy a fan.

The Roman Forum

At 11:30, we met an Italian-born Welshman in a bright blue shirt for our tour of the forum. This was also very informative as he led us along the upper walkway and pointed out the main sights which we could visit on our own later. The Forum was the center of life in Ancient Rome.

Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine

The north side of the ancient Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine is one of the more prominent structures visible on the Forum's grounds. While we usually associate the word 'basilica' with a church, it really just meant a style of building to the Romans. Our tour guide said we typically associate basilica with a church because most of these buildings, with their large open centers, were turned into churches. As he said, if you stand around Rome long enough, you get turned into a church.

Farnese Gardens

Following the tour, we were in need of a toilet, which our tour guide indicated were upstairs in the Farnese Gardens, so we walked up there and wandered around and found the facilities. We also found the free water fountain and refilled our one Euro water bottle. One nice thing about the Forum was that it required admission, so none of the vendors could enter without paying.

Forum Self-Guided Tour

We were not sure whether we should go down into the forum or not because we were concerned about having to climb all of the stairs to come back out. But eventually we found a map and learned there were two entrances at the bottom, so we climbed down into the Forum and viewed the sites.

Temple of Saturn

We ended up at the Temple of Saturn at the far end of the Forum and then exited to begin our walk to the Pantheon.

Lunch

Hotel breakfast could only carry us so far, so our next priority was lunch. We stopped into a small place called the Antica Trattoria due Colonne on the Via del Seminario near the Pantheon. J. R. tried another local 'birra' along with some fettucini while Janie had lasagna. All of the food was very good.

The Pantheon

Rebecca insisted on a visit to the Pantheon because she says it was 'stolen' from the Greeks and she is very unhappy about that. J. R. said it was an 'homage' but she didn't buy that.

Piazza Navona

After the Pantheon, we walked over to Piazza Navona, built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, which was a Roman competition arena. We saw the famous Fontana del Quattro Flumi with its huge obelisk, and the Pamphili Plaza. Rebecca also found a gelateria and the ladies enjoyed some gelato while J. R. purchased some sodas from the tourist information office. On the way back, we also stopped by the Church of San Macuto and the Church of Sant'Ignazio

Altare della Patria

It was a long, hot walk back to our hotel. The Pantheon is nowhere near any Metro station, so it was either walk or take a cab, which are hard to find in Rome. So we walked. We returned via the Altare della Patria (The Altar of the Fatherland), which we had seen from our car the day before and briefly as we walked by it earlier in the day. We took some time to pose for photos.

Santa Maria di Loreto and Chiesa SS Nome di Maria

Two of Rome's many churches, Santa Maria di Loreto and Chiesa SS Nome di Maria, are located near the Altar of the Fatherland.

Julius Caesar

On our stroll back to the hotel, we couldn't help but stop at the statue of Julius Caesar, complete with a pigeon perched on his head.

Evening in Rome

We returned to our hotel and J. R. went out in seach of a cash point to get some more money, as the tour in the morning had depleted our Euro supply. The hotel directed him to a bank just down the street, but their ATM was broken. HERE Maps suggested a Bank of Italia nearby, but that turned out to be a headquarters building with no bank or ATM. Another bank was closed on Sunday and their ATM was indoors and locked. Finally he found a tourist information center with an ATM and got cash. As he walked back to the hotel from the other direction, he found another ATM within a block of the hotel.

Rebecca was not hungry, so Janie and J. R. went out to find dinner. We had seen a little place right near our hotel called "L'Archetto di Cavour" and decided to try it and we were glad we did. Janie decided to sit inside, which was a good decision because halfway through our meal, an accordian player placed himself directly in front of the sidewalk seat we would have been in. Janie had a glass of prosecco while J. R. stuck to acqua (the house white, as the waitress termed it). J. R. ordered the Penne Arrabatia and the waitress warned him it was served spicy in Italy. He told her that was 'perfecto' and so she brought him extra red pepper flakes and oil infused with peppers to make it even spicier if her wanted. It was a perfect little meal to end the day in Rome.