Today was a slower moving day for us as we ended up sleeping in a little later than we probably should have, and we also enjoyed a couple of hours in the afternoon in our room taking shelter from the daily afternoon thunderstorm (Step Up was on, so all was not lost!) n
Even so, we saw so many things today! Starting off at Palatine Hill and the Forum. This is a ruin of the Roman City, and it was massive. Very well preserved and interesting. Next stop was the Colosseum. We were advised to buy tickets in advance which we did, however the security line was ridiculous and unorganized, so it still took about 45 minutes to get in. We also weren’t allowed to bring water in which was sad considering the heat, but Rome has free water fountains all over with one inside the Colosseum which forced me to try it (and continue to use the public water fountains throughout the day — very good and cold water actually — and much cheaper than paying 3euro per bottle). I’d heard so many different people say it was smaller than expected, but I don’t agree. I thought it was big and impressive,and definitely worth the visit despite the amount of people. If you think back to when the Romans lived, the technology they didn’t have and yet they still created these masterpieces. Truly amazing.
Caption: The Forum
Caption: Colosseumn
By this point we were hot and ready for gelato — I think Kevin would stop at every gelato shop here if I’d let him. Although it truly is delicious, and we are going to miss it. So we found a random shop and Kevin began his love affair with Strawberry here while I had a chocolate shake.
Other random places we saw while walking:
Circus Maximus which is the stadium where the chariots raced.
Trevi Fountain again… We were able to get right up on it this time and toss in a coin. Still a ridiculous amount of people there which baffles me a bit — it was cool to see but I’m not sure why you would sit and stay for hours looking at it.
Caption: The madhouse surrounding the Trevi Fountain.
Teatro Marcello is a Roman theater still in use today. It looked a bit like a mini Colosseum.
Area Sacra — another random set of Roman ruins.
Italian wedding — as we were walking back towards our apartment, there was a bride and groom walking out of the church and rice was being thrown everywhere. It looked like a beautiful wedding <3
Street market — We stumbled upon a local street market that did not seem touristy at all since we were so far off the beaten path. So much bread and noodles and jam.
Spanish Steps — this was more of an after thought to see the steps, and they are actually being cleaned/repaired so we could only see them through the blockades. As Kevin out it, “probably better this way since now we can get a picture with no people in it”.
For lunch today we went into the Co-Op store and bought a sandwich, salad and apple sauce because we ate so late and we knew we were going to eat well for dinner. Dinner ended up eating at La Piazetta del Quirinale, because they had Fettuccini Alfredo which of course I had to order. For those that may not know, this is one of my favorite meals to cook at home and probably one of the reasons Kevin married me. Sooo I’m picky when eating it in a restaurant, and this one was delicious! Alfredo was founded here in Rome, and so it was a must try. Kevin chose Spinach and Basil Ravioli in butter sauce which was also pretty good.
We ended the day with gelato from Gelataria Valentino. Best gelato we’ve had so far. We will definitely be a repeat customer.
When discussing our trip, many had expressed their opinion on my choice of only two days in Rome saying it would never be enough. I was almost convinced to add a day or two, but I’m glad I didn’t. We saw everything we wanted to see in one day… Starting at 2p yesterday to 2p today. This afternoon was lazy, so it doesn’t count. Tomorrow we are venturing away from the city since we have an extra day to see some more Roman Ruins. Until then =)
