Today is the big day-Colosseum. First breakfast. Back to our place Ciuri Ciuri. They have my sugar donut! I get that, orange juice, and cappuccino. Richard gets orange juice and a breakfast sandwich of ham and cheese. It's just what we need to start the day. Cost 13.50€ cash.
Colosseum. I have booked us a tour with Walks of Italy. Gladiator's Gate: Special access Colosseum tour with arena floor. Cost 220.80€ but I was given a discount so final cost for the 2 of us is 198.71€/$212.16. Ouch! I could have stood in line at the on site office to try to get these tickets but since we're having some issues with our legs I decided to play it safe. I was lucky to get these tickets as I wanted the arena floor-not just general admission. We take a taxi to the meet place. Cost 9€.
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| Our taxi |
Tour is supposed to be 3 hours 15 minutes. We will enter the Colosseum through the gladiator's gate which is where the gladiators would have entered. We will see the Colosseum from the reconstructed arena floor and the stands on the second floor. It also includes Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Our tour starts at 10:30 am. Per website it's supposed to last 3 hours 15 minutes but our tour ended 30 minutes early! Small group of 16 people max and guided. Our guide is?-wish I could remember her name. We are given headsets. We are a small group-no more than 15 I would guess. Our guide-wish I could remember her name-gives us some basic information on our tour. I'm disappointed to hear we will not be doing the Colosseum first. We follow our guide, get our admission stickers, and walk over to the area of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Our guide is so cute. Over our headsets we will hear "follow the lobster" often. She has a long pole with a stuffed toy lobster on its end so we know which group we belong to. There are a lot of tour groups here!
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| There's that lobster!! |
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| Arches had numbers for the people to know where to enter?? |
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This is the admission sticker that we got
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We walk on the Via Sacra and see the Arch of Titus which is part of the Roman Forum. She explains this is a 1st century A.D. arch located on the Via Sacra. Constructed by Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his brother Titus. To commemorate the victory of Titus with their father Vespasian over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea. Inside of the arch we see the spoils of Jerusalem relief. The arch has panels depicting the triumphal procession celebrated after the Roman victory which culminated in the fall of Jerusalem. Became the symbol of the Jewish diaspora and the menorah depicted on the arch was used as the model for the menorah used as the emblem of the state of Israel.
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| Via Sacra |
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| Walking on the Via Sacra |
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Arch of Titus
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South inner panel/relief showing spoils from the fall of Jerusalem and the menorah
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| North inner panel/relief showing Titus as triumphator |
I know we will have a hard time getting up to the top of Palatine Hill so our guide gives us the option of just waiting at the bottom for the group. While we are waiting/sitting we can hear the guide giving explanations of what the group is seeing. It sounds like she is pointing out things from the Roman Forum to them. So I assume you can see the ruins of the Roman Forum from up there. Then when she and the group return after around 30 minutes we walk over towards where the Roman Forum is. I'm thinking we will have a tour here but I was wrong and this was a huge disappointment. If the guide had told us this we would have explored the Roman Forum on our own and then met up with the rest of the group.
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Palatine Hill. One of the 7 hills of Rome and the most significant. Per legend this is where the she wolf suckled the twins Remus and Romulus. The city of Rome was founded here by Romulus. It is the birth place of the first Roman emperor Augustus. Emperors had their residences here. There are clear signs pointing the way. There are supposed to be stunning views from here.
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| Think the people way up at the top are on Palatine Hill most likely looking down on to the Roman Forum |
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| Via Sacra |
Roman Forum. It used to be the center of day to day life in Rome. Site of triumphal processions and elections, venue for public speeches/criminal trials, nucleus of commercial affairs. There were statues and monuments of the city's great men here. It is a rectangular area and surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Marketplace. Fell into complete disrepair after the fall of the Roman Empire. Slowly decayed, destroyed by earthquakes, pillaged for the marble. Our group returns and we follow the guide to the Basilica of Maxentius. This is an ancient building in the Roman Forum. It was the largest building in the Forum and the last Roman basilica built in the city. Construction began on the north side of the Forum under the emperor Maxentius in 308 A.D. and completed in 312 A.D. by Constantine I. In ancient Rome a basilica was a rectangular building with a large central open space. Basilicas served many functions-courthouse, council chamber, meeting hall. Under Constantine and his successors this type of building was chosen as the basis for the design of the larger places of Christian worship. Later the term basilica became known to be a large church or cathedral. All that remains today is the north aisle with its 3 concrete barrel vaults.
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| Remains of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine |
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Our guide shows us what this looked like
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Colosseum. Finally!! Symbol of the power of the ancient Roman Empire. Conceived by Emperor Vespasian who followed after Nero. Built on the site of the lake of Nero's golden house. Took 10 years to build. When Vespasian died his son Titus completed and inaugurated the building in 80 A.D. Was the largest amphitheater (double theatre) in the Roman Empire. It hosted exciting and lavish games including animal hunts, public executions, and gladiator combat. There were tickets given out, numbered entrances, seats graded according to social status. The senators and prominent politicians had their own permanent seats with names on them. Only part of the original outer ring still survives. The holes you see in the walls-travertine blocks on the outside of the Colosseum were not held together with mortar but with iron pins. Centuries after the Colosseum was built the Romans dug out the iron and recycled it leaving the holes you can see today.
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Looking back
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Follow the lobster!
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| Colosseum a long, long time ago |
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| Entering through the gladiator's gate to the arena |
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| Richard likes what he sees |
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White marble seats-senators
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| Underground tour |
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Large sliding ramp which allowed the movement of large stage sets to be raised on the arena floor.
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| Some of us took the elevator to level 2 |
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| Do not write on the walls! |
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| We're on level 2 now |
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| Postcard-how the Colosseum most likely looked |
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Same postcard-showing how Colosseum looks today
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| Postcard-Colosseum outside, Colosseum inside, Arch of Constantine, Imperial Forum, 2 small pictures Mercati Traianei/Trajan's Market, Palatine |
Taxi back to our hotel. Cost ? It's around 1:30 pm. We could do more sightseeing but Richard feels like he just wants to relax by the pool and I agree.
Pool time. We spend all afternoon here! We even order drinks!
Hard Rock Cafe. Taxi from our hotel 15/70€/$16.76. We have no reservation but we're able to get a table. It's not real busy but maybe because it's only 6:30 pm. Tonight I'm in the mood for the chicken sandwich. But they're 2 kinds on the menu that I like. I will get one and Richard will get the other and then we'll split and share! Drinks-Peroni beer for Richard and ginger beer for me. So good. I order the fried chicken sandwich. It's nothing special-just crispy marinated buttermilk chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing on a toasted brioche bun. Served with seasoned fries. Richard orders the Buffalo chicken sandwich. Marinated buttermilk chicken breast tossed in Buffalo sauce with lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing on a toasted brioche bun. The idea to split our sandwich and share worked out nicely. The Buffalo chicken sandwich does have that heat/spiciness and I don't think my mouth could have handled a whole sandwich that spicy. It was all good. The fries tasted fresh, not frozen. Richard gets another beer. He does love Peroni and he may not be able to get it back home. Service and food great. We're happy. Cost 60.65€/$64.74. Taxi back to our hotel. Hard Rock staff go out of their way to get us a taxi as it's a busier time now. Cost 12.80€/$13.66.
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Taxi to dinner
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| There's the Via Veneto! |
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Fried chicken sandwich
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| Buffalo chicken sandwich |
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| Taxi back to our hotel |
It's been a day of ups and downs. I really wish we had walked back to the Roman Forum after our tour was done. We missed seeing hardly any of the Roman Forum but our legs just weren't cooperating. Tomorrow is our last full day here in Rome and in Italy! Can't believe the time has gone by so fast.
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