Buongiorno!
Today was such an early day, packed with a ton of amazing sight-seeing and touristy events. We woke up at what felt like the crack of dawn (8am - come on, it's vacation, and 8am is really early when you're on vaca time), got ready, packed up our maps and cameras, and were on our way to the bus stop! The bus transport in Rome is actually super easy to navigate and figure out, and a fairly reasonable price. So I'd strongly suggest to anyone going to Rome that if you can't walk to your next destination, take the bus.
Anyways, on we were to the Colosseum!!! The bus was packed and smelly, and we were clearly the tourists with the map out, but after a few stops, we realized we didn't need the map. Because you turn a corner and BAM! There is the Colosseum. Ginormous, old, and magnificent.
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| So much of what we saw in Italy was being renovated. So just ignore all the scaffolding in about 90% of my pics :) |
Disclaimer: My major in college was Social Science, I am a history teacher. Today was a total history-nerdy day in Rome. So don't mind it if I get totally excited like a Justin Bieber fan-girl when I talk about these old historical sites. And don't let my history-nerdiness make you feel like it would be lame to see these places in real life. My mom and brother couldn't give two shits about history, but they loved everything we saw today and were blown away by it all. Okay, disclaimer over.
This was by far the coolest day ever. The Colosseum is amazing. So outstanding. It costs 12 euro for an admission ticket (which also gets you entry into the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill), and then we paid an additional 13 euro per ticket to have a tour guide for it all. (Seems pricey, but Rick Steves' said it was worth it to get a tour guide, and he was 100% right. The tour guides were amazing, so knowledgeable, and really made it all so much more awesome). So, another tip if you ever go to the Colosseum in Rome: GET A TOUR GUIDE! I can't even recall everything the tour guide told me, but I remember constantly saying "wow" every time he said something that had happened in the Colosseum or about how it was built.
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| As soon as you enter the Colosseum. |
After the tour at the Colosseum, they gave us an hour to wander around for pictures and sight-seeing before part 2 of the tour - which was in the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Mom started to feel really sick and faint. I honestly think she was a little jet-lagged. So she and Dad went back to the apartment for a couple hours so she could rest. I felt horrible, but we paid for the tour, so Zach and I stayed.
We met our tour guide, Elaine, from the New Rome Free Tours. She was from Canada (our tour guide in the Colosseum was Italian and I didn't catch his name), so it was nice being able to completely understand her.
To be completely honest, even as a history teacher, I had no clue what would be in the Roman Forum, or what Palatine Hill was. (I teach U.S. History - not Italian History!) But it ended up being so neat! And so beautiful. It is ruins of where Roman life was basically lived for hundreds of years from the 6th century B.C. until about the 7th century A.D. This is exactly where Rome was founded as a tribe, then an empire.
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| Zach taking in the views at Palatine Hill. |
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| Palatine Hill ruins |
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| Palatine Hill ruins |
Zach and I really enjoyed the tour and took LOTS of pictures. Like I said, I felt horrible that Mom and Dad missed it, really really horrible...but at the same time, I kind of love having just sibling time. I'm a pretty lucky gal that I have a sibling I get along with so well.
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| Roman Forum ruins |
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| Roman Forum ruins |
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| Roman Forum ruins |
After the tour, we wandered around the Forum for a little while before deciding to go find the Mouth of Truth. Zach's girlfriend gave him a cute list of fun things to do in Italy, and the Mouth of Truth was on the list. I also really wanted to do it since it was in the movie Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. I love me some oldies, and Roman Holiday is in my Top 10 list!
On our way, we saw the Capitol building and two temples to Roman Gods. Unexpected, and that's what I love about wandering the streets of Rome :)
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| The Capitol Building in Rome. |
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| Temples of Vesta and Portunus that we randomly stumbled upon in Rome. |
We finally stumbled upon Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church, which is where the Mouth of Truth is located (fun fact: the bones - supposedly - of St. Valentine are also in this church. I wish I knew that before getting there, because I could have prepared some prayers for my non-existent love life). The Mouth had a really long line, but it moved pretty fast, and soon enough we were putting our hands in the mouth, in hopes of them not getting bitten off!
We survived ;)
Zach and I then wandered north on the Tiber River, just taking in the sights, until realizing we were exhausted and just could not walk anymore. With a little help, we figured out what bus to hop on that would get us closest to our apartment, and carefully counted the stops until we hopped off.
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| Seen during our walk back from the Mouth of Truth |
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| The Ministry of Justice, right when we got off the bus on our way back to the apartment. Why is every building so grand and ornate in Rome? I love it. |
When we got back to the apartment, Mom was resting and Dad was doing laundry. Mom still felt weak, so after a short break off our feet, we headed back out for some wandering with Dad. We had to pick up our tickets for the audience with the pope for the next day, so first and foremost, we were on a mission to find that building.
After getting a tad lost, we found the North American Seminarian College, where we picked up our tickets. I don't know how it happened, but we got VIP tickets! Our tickets allowed us to sit right up next to the stage where Pope Francis is seated. We were pumped!!
After thanking the super nice priests- and nuns-in-training, we set out for the Pantheon. It wasn't very far away, and you knew you were at the right place the second you turned the corner and looked up. It is SO TALL. It's free to get in, but it is really crowded. We managed to get a few good pictures though...
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| The back of the Pantheon...I think we found it! |
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| Fun Fact: Raphael (painter, sculpter, future Ninja-Turtle...) is buried in the Pantheon. Pretty neat to see. |
Later, we went back to the apartment to get Mom and go to dinner with Father Thomas Montanaro, a priest we were referred to by my Aunt Diane for any/all help with touring the Vatican. We met him at La Soffitta in Piazza del Risorgimento, just a block away from the Vatican Walls. It was DELICIOUS. I wish we got pictures of the food we ate. They made a special pizza just for our table, brought us some of the best wine I've ever tasted in my life, and then we had free pick from the dessert cart. I'm pretty sure they gave us special treatment since we were sitting with a priest, and you'll never ever hear me complain about that :)
So, to sum up this whole day: if you ever get to travel to Rome, definitely make time for the Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill and hire a guide, and eat at La Soffitta!!!
Tomorrow...we see the Pope!
Ciao!
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