Back to reminisce about my vacation! {Why does a week away always seem to fly by?!}
Our next day in Rome was spent around the Colosseum. We all agreed that this would be the best day to do outdoor tours, as the next day was scheduled to rain. Sun for the win!
GLADIATORS: UNITE!
Much to my dismay, we had to take the Metro over to the Colosseum in the morning. Luckily, it was much better than the night before. That didn’t stop me from being super freaked though! What? I’m a scaredy-cat!
Outside the Colosseum
We had arranged a private tour of the Colosseum and I must say, I would do the exact same thing again! We learned a lot more than if we would have just been wandering around ourselves. Plus, we got to completely skip the {several hour} entry line… sweet deal! Well worth the price.
Fun fact: Wondering where the floor in the Colosseum went? {In the picture it looks like a weird maze} It was later “recycled” after it’s heyday to be made into the pillars of The Vatican! Ancient Romans were so ahead of their time 😉
THE ROMAN FORUM & PALATINE HILL
Upon completion of our Colosseum tour, we walked over to The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I’m ashamed to admit that prior to our visit, I had zero existing knowledge of these historic places. World history wasn’t my favorite subject… Anyway, this turned out to be another favorite part of my time in Rome.
{I should also mention that admission into the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill is included with your ticket to the Colosseum. They are right next to each other!}
If you’re in the dark as I was, here is some quick info regarding the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Essentially, today these adjacent places are home to some of the world’s oldest ruins. It is a showcase of how the Romans actually lived… and it is massive. {We learned in our tour that the Romans did not work, their slaves did. Therefore, they spent their days hanging out in the forum and immersing themselves into cultural activities} If we didn’t get hungry, I believe we could have spent all day here! Again, I was so blown away by the age of everything!
The view is absolutely breathtaking. I couldn’t snap enough photos!
Roman Forum
SPANISH STEPS
The next few hours, we found a little place for lunch, then attempted to walk over to the Spanish Steps. We got a wee bit lost… okay, we were just plain lost. But we eventually found them! I felt like it was an over-hyped attraction, but was still glad we went. Mostly, I think people like it because the people-watching is phenomenal! Remember those flower/water/junk-sellers I was talking about before? They were especially rampant and persistent here and it greatly took away from the experience. I would have enjoyed relaxing on the steps much more if I didn’t have to yell “NO!” every two minutes. Oh, Rome.
Spanish Steps
We got some {more} gelato, which happened to be the best {my opinion} of the trip! I had a scoop of coconut and a scoop of some type of berry mix that I pointed to {still have no clue what it actually was!} and it was to die for. I could eat gelato every day and not get sick of it!
After the gelato, Paul and I went off on our own for a bit and went shopping! There are hundreds of shops along the base of the Spanish Steps and we had fun looking around!
That pretty much sums up our second full day in Rome! I will share the last day in Rome as well as Venice as soon as I can. I leave tomorrow for a week to work… should be an exhausting but fun weekend.
Hope your week is going well!
Running Sweet Tooth 