What a perfect way to start a Roman holiday - a gorgeous sunny day! We woke up feeling frustrated about not being able to check into our proper hotel but made the best of the tiny shower and hilariously small breakfast (cup of instant coffee, one croissant) but feeling the heat outside made up for it a little. We finally got to check into the right room and once here, we decided that there wasn’t an issue with the water at all since there are other people staying here, obviously had been last night too. We think the lady was just too lazy to walk us over here from where she lives. It’s less than a five minute walk away. Grrr. Anyway, we made it in and we’re much better off here.
We headed towards the Coliseum next and found it quite easily. Brandon’s sense of direction really is pretty amazing! The Forum is next to it and with the advice of websites and a guide book, we headed there to look for a combo ticket that would allow us to skip the line ups. There are so many people trying to sell tours and we tried really hard to avoid them, but were stopped by an accent that sounded normal - Scottish! The guy was from Glasgow, had been in Rome for about six months and was running a tour company with his friend from Ireland. We ended up agreeing to go with this company because it was a pretty good deal and not really knowing anything about Roman history, we figured it might be good to have someone tell us what we were looking at. We were told we’d start in the Forum then make our way into the Coliseum which is what I wanted because I thought we’d need the extra time there to explore on our own. When we joined the tour group though, we went the other way. The guide, who was local as all official guides have to be in Rome (and possess a degree in history or archaeology), lead us to the Coliseum and told us lots of information about it while we waited for the girl from the office to arrive with our tickets. Getting in was much more complicated that expected and the shear number of people there was unreal. It regularly sat 70,000 people and I’m sure the way they all got in was easier than the way it is now. But in we eventually got and we spent over an hour climbing up and wandering through the areas that are open to the public. There were also really good views from here of the square below, the Palatine Hill and some of the modern buildings that are built layer upon layer above ancient ruins.
The guide told us that unlike the movies portray, the gladiators and others who fought in the exhibitions in the Coliseum were performers; actors who went to school to train to fight. Slaves could choose to try their hand at fighting and if they survived their contracted term, they would be free men with money and fame. It’s worth noting however that only about 2% of the men who fought survived.
The next stop was the Palatine Hill, the choice neighbourhood of the emperors. There’s not much there today to suggest that this was where the richest and most important people lived. But at one time most of the entire area and even more down below was encompassed by Nero’s massive palace.
Down the hill on the other side we ventured into the Forum, the most important place in the centre of Ancient Rome. This is where everything happened. Government, markets, temples, and just plain gathering took place here. There are so many ruins it’s hard to really know what to make of it all. It’s good we took the tour otherwise it would not have meant much. One thing we learned here was the meaning behind the term basilica. It used to mean basically just a gathering place. But when Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity these round places turned into places of worship. From then on all churches built in that style were known as basilicas and it just kind of stuck.
One of the most important things we learned while on the tour was about water. There are fountains all over Rome and they are all safe to drink from. Everyone just fills their bottles wherever there’s a running tap. It’s the biggest, most important monument the ancients left because the water is flowing from nearly 3000 year old springs.
The tour ended here and we left the Forum walking towards a massive white building. We approached it from the back so we didn’t really know what it was, only that there was a regimental museum inside. We wandered all over, inside and out, and even ended up in a church next door for a while. When we left and turned around to see the front of the building we found out just how grand it really was. I still don’t know what it’s called, but there’s a war memorial that it is constantly guarded by Italian soldiers and it’s apparently where Mussolini gave speeches to rile up the people.
We walked to the Pantheon next and rested there for a little while. We probably should’ve gotten a guide book or audio tour because I don’t really know what it is we were seeing, but it was fabulous none the less. Aside from the crowd this was a really cool place.
We found ourselves down a side street where we stopped for gelato for me and pizza for Brandon. It’s really quite amazing to just wander down all the narrow little alleys that you think are going to lead one place and end up taking you somewhere completely different. We never felt uncomfortable though and even though it wasn’t terribly clean, it wasn’t dirty either.
Next was Piazza Navona where we sat in front of a fountain for a while and soaked up some atmosphere. The whole square is filled with artists selling pictures and drawing caricatures and there are cafes lining both sides. It was very much how I imagined Italy to look and feel. Brandon was nearly falling asleep by this point and we were starving so we left in search of dinner, stopping for yet another cup of gelato on the way. We wanted to stay away from such tourist trap places in the squares and on the main streets because we didn’t want to spend a fortune on frozen or pre-made pasta. We found a place down a dim little street and had a really nice, romantic dinner before the long walk back to the hotel where we had showers to take off the sunscreen and sweat and basically fell into bed. It was a great first day.
We headed towards the Coliseum next and found it quite easily. Brandon’s sense of direction really is pretty amazing! The Forum is next to it and with the advice of websites and a guide book, we headed there to look for a combo ticket that would allow us to skip the line ups. There are so many people trying to sell tours and we tried really hard to avoid them, but were stopped by an accent that sounded normal - Scottish! The guy was from Glasgow, had been in Rome for about six months and was running a tour company with his friend from Ireland. We ended up agreeing to go with this company because it was a pretty good deal and not really knowing anything about Roman history, we figured it might be good to have someone tell us what we were looking at. We were told we’d start in the Forum then make our way into the Coliseum which is what I wanted because I thought we’d need the extra time there to explore on our own. When we joined the tour group though, we went the other way. The guide, who was local as all official guides have to be in Rome (and possess a degree in history or archaeology), lead us to the Coliseum and told us lots of information about it while we waited for the girl from the office to arrive with our tickets. Getting in was much more complicated that expected and the shear number of people there was unreal. It regularly sat 70,000 people and I’m sure the way they all got in was easier than the way it is now. But in we eventually got and we spent over an hour climbing up and wandering through the areas that are open to the public. There were also really good views from here of the square below, the Palatine Hill and some of the modern buildings that are built layer upon layer above ancient ruins.
The guide told us that unlike the movies portray, the gladiators and others who fought in the exhibitions in the Coliseum were performers; actors who went to school to train to fight. Slaves could choose to try their hand at fighting and if they survived their contracted term, they would be free men with money and fame. It’s worth noting however that only about 2% of the men who fought survived.
The next stop was the Palatine Hill, the choice neighbourhood of the emperors. There’s not much there today to suggest that this was where the richest and most important people lived. But at one time most of the entire area and even more down below was encompassed by Nero’s massive palace.
Down the hill on the other side we ventured into the Forum, the most important place in the centre of Ancient Rome. This is where everything happened. Government, markets, temples, and just plain gathering took place here. There are so many ruins it’s hard to really know what to make of it all. It’s good we took the tour otherwise it would not have meant much. One thing we learned here was the meaning behind the term basilica. It used to mean basically just a gathering place. But when Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity these round places turned into places of worship. From then on all churches built in that style were known as basilicas and it just kind of stuck.
One of the most important things we learned while on the tour was about water. There are fountains all over Rome and they are all safe to drink from. Everyone just fills their bottles wherever there’s a running tap. It’s the biggest, most important monument the ancients left because the water is flowing from nearly 3000 year old springs.
The tour ended here and we left the Forum walking towards a massive white building. We approached it from the back so we didn’t really know what it was, only that there was a regimental museum inside. We wandered all over, inside and out, and even ended up in a church next door for a while. When we left and turned around to see the front of the building we found out just how grand it really was. I still don’t know what it’s called, but there’s a war memorial that it is constantly guarded by Italian soldiers and it’s apparently where Mussolini gave speeches to rile up the people.
We walked to the Pantheon next and rested there for a little while. We probably should’ve gotten a guide book or audio tour because I don’t really know what it is we were seeing, but it was fabulous none the less. Aside from the crowd this was a really cool place.
We found ourselves down a side street where we stopped for gelato for me and pizza for Brandon. It’s really quite amazing to just wander down all the narrow little alleys that you think are going to lead one place and end up taking you somewhere completely different. We never felt uncomfortable though and even though it wasn’t terribly clean, it wasn’t dirty either.
Next was Piazza Navona where we sat in front of a fountain for a while and soaked up some atmosphere. The whole square is filled with artists selling pictures and drawing caricatures and there are cafes lining both sides. It was very much how I imagined Italy to look and feel. Brandon was nearly falling asleep by this point and we were starving so we left in search of dinner, stopping for yet another cup of gelato on the way. We wanted to stay away from such tourist trap places in the squares and on the main streets because we didn’t want to spend a fortune on frozen or pre-made pasta. We found a place down a dim little street and had a really nice, romantic dinner before the long walk back to the hotel where we had showers to take off the sunscreen and sweat and basically fell into bed. It was a great first day.
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