Andrea and I woke up around 10 AM today. Whoa, that’s late for us this trip. We also drank an entire bottle of excellent wine the night before…but that couldn’t be related…
We made our way down to the Piazza Venezia, taking pictures of the cathedrals and monuments. From there we headed north to a little cafe to grab a quick lunch. We had 2 cokes, Andrea ordered lasagna (got spaghetti) and I got penne. The pasta tasted like every cafeteria pasta you’ve ever known. This sumptuous feast ended up costing us about 25 Euros (!?!). Needless to say, we won’t be going back there.
We made our way back to the Foro Romano (Roman forum). We wandered around taking pictures of everthing: the Monte Capitolino, the Piazza Campidoglio, and of course the ancient Roman ruins themselves. It was another really hot day, so we stopped for strawberry gelato and a roadside stand. It was absolutely perfect, and eating it we could swear shaved off about 5 degrees immediately. We had the Camelbak again, and constantly filled it with water. Andrea and I bought tickets that gave us access to actually walk in the forum, as well as the Colosseum. We wandered about taking pictures and video, loosely trying to identify what it is we were looking at. We took it upon ourselves to eavesdrop on nearby tour groups, which is how we learned where the House of the Vestal Virgins was, home to the guardians of the sacred flame, which they were entrusted to keep burning at all times. We also learned they were exceedingly good at their job, as this building burned down more often than any other.
It was truly incredible to walk amongst the ruins at the heart of the Roman Empire, and we took a boatload of pictures. We saw the Arch of Septimius Severus and covered the Palatine Hill, which was the location of ancient Roman Palaces, as the AAA Italy travel book puts it “Once covered with palaces, today the ruins of the Palatine lie among oleanders and cypresses, an evocative reminder of the transience of glory.” Well put.
Quick travel tip: the line for the combination Forum/Colosseum ticket at the forum was very short, 5 people max. The line at the Colosseum was very long, probably about a 45 minute wait. Andrea and I were really glad we picked up our tickets at the Forum; we got to skip that line and head straight to the entrance.
We made our way south towards the Colosseo (Colosseum), which dates all the way back to AD 72, and at one point held around 55,000 people. Later in its history, part of it was recycled for building material elsewhere in Rome, hence the broken, incomplete look we’re all so familiar with. I’ve got to be honest; we got to the Colosseum, took some pictures, walked around, and we were ready to go. It’s a big, oval coliseum. There are interesting stories if you get the audio tour, I’m sure, but we felt like we’re generally familiar with the structure, we’d seen it, so we were ready to head out. Plus, we’d been walking for an eternity, and we needed to find a new hotel for the next day (Hotel Oceania had only limited availability).
We came back to the room and took a short siesta to rest our weary feet. We showered and headed to a Japanese restaurant just up Via Firenze. We were insanely curious about what to expect from Japanese food in Italy. It was a sushi bar with a conveyor belt, which we were excited about, although we didn’t use this trip (we want to in the very near future). We ordered a California roll and a sushi platter that included octopus, squid, yellowtail, prawns, and salmon. Everything was fantastic, although the squid is a bit rubbery. I made a mess of the soy sauce on the white tablecloth, and Andrea only made a couple drops (“look, I made a mess too” she’d say in between bouts of laughing at me). 🙂 We finished up with green tea ice cream and lemon sorbet, both of which were fantastic.
We got back to the hotel and used their computer to book 5 nights at another hotel in Rome, then headed off to sleep. We’re both really happy with the decision to take a bunch of time in Rome; it’s very comfortable here, and there’s a bunch to see. The only uncomfortable part is it’s been REALLY hot; in addition to the usual morning routine we’ve been showering and changing at least once a day. We’ve walked a ton; Andrea’s repeatedly wished we had a scale to see how much weight we must have lost and/or a pedometer to revel in how many miles we’ve walked. And before anyone gets concerned, we drink water from the Camelbak all day long, so we’re very well hydrated. 🙂
I think tomorrow we’ll get more gelato…
matt & andrea 