Ancient Rome here we come! Hat for shade, water bottles filled and we take off on the double decker bus for the day at the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Palatine hills.
Little else in Rome is likely to compare with the first sighting of the Colosseum, once the scene of gladiatorial combat and other entertainment. It is now one of the city's most majestic and awe-inspiring ancient monument. The Colosseum was begun around AD 70 and by AD 79 the monument had been completed to its third tier. It had 80 entrance/exits and a capacity of about 70,000. The original seating and floor is gone. The primary function of the Colosseum was to stage gladiatorial and other games.
To avoid standing in line for hours to get a ticket we took a guided tour.
Looking out from the top of the Colosseum we see our next destinations - the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.
There is an interesting myth of the beginnings of Rome. In the marshy inlet of the Tiber River between the Capitoline and Palatine hills twins Romulus and Remus were found and suckled by the she-wolf, and here that Romulus - according to legend - founded Rome in 753 BC. The Palatino (Palatine Hill) is one of Rome's Seven Hills. The area contains ruins of grand palaces built after the lst century BC by the city's rich and powerful.
Foro Romano (the Roman Forum) was the heart of the Roman Empire for almost 1000 years. Its once mighty majestic buildings have been reduced almost to nothing. It is still a captivating and interesting site. There are remains of the three arched Basilica, arched monuments, temples, a senate house, and market areas.
Our trusty guidebook had a "Top Tip" for the Roman Forum: Avoid visiting the Forum in the heat of the afternoon - there is little shade on the site and sightseeing can be uncomfortable. Well we survived! We haled a taxi instead of the hop on/hop off bus so we could go quickly back to the hotel.
Relaxing in our hotel room.
The Roman wall from our hotel window.
We took a taxi to Gusto!, the recommended restaurant for the evening. We had a crab cake, tomato/mozzarella/zucchini salad, and steak with potato risoti. We walked back to the hotel via the Spanish Steps route. Another fabulous day in Rome!
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