After a lovely continental breakfast at my hotel, I made my way to the train station. My first stop of the day was the Roman Colosseum. When I saw the Colosseum up close for the first time, it felt a lot like my first experience going to Disney World as a child, but this was far better! Never have I been so happy to be in one place than I was while I was there.
There was a very long queue just to get into the Colosseum that stretched half way around the Colosseum itself. However, I did not have to wait in line because I had done my research ahead of time.
I had acquired a Roma Pass which gives you faster access to the sites than opposed to waiting in the regular lines. The first two sights that you enter are free of charge and then any sight after that will be half price. You also are given unlimited travel via the Metro or the bus system in Rome. It is well worth the investment and it easily pays for itself, in time and money.
Once inside I instantly feel in love with the interior. It was exactly what I had always dreamed it to be like. To start off it was just amazing to think that I was standing in the same arena that some 1000 years ago, Ancient Roman's once spectated gladiators fight to the death. Secondly, that the building had been able to stand the test of time.
In the center of the arena you could see the underground walls and passages that gladiators and guards alike once walked through. These walls and passages were a very complex labyrinth that I could not have imagined navigating.
Alongside the outer edges of the arena was the stadium seating. Although not much was left of the seating other than the incline of where the seating use to be, if you closed your eyes you could easily visualize what it looked like. I even went as far to imagine what the roar of the crowd might have sounded like and what they might of been wearing.
What was also really neat about this experience was that the Colosseum itself was fairly empty as most people were still waiting outside just to get in. This allowed me to enjoy and appreciate the experience more so than if it had been packed with other tourist.
I left the Colosseum feeling blissful and full of delight; it was definitely something I want to go back and see some day.
Next on the agenda was the Roman Forum. After acquiring my ticket, I then spent the next half hour trying to find the entrance to the Roman Forum itself. It was communicated to me originally that the entrance was up the hill on my immediate right. Up the hill I went thinking nothing of the fact that no one else was heading in the same direction as I was. Heck the whole Roman Forum surrounded me so I had nothing to worry about, right?
Unfortunately when I reached the top of the very steep hill the entrance was closed and a sign told me to use the alternative entrance via the street. I walked back down the hill and spent the next several minutes trying to locate this street. Once I finally found it the entire endeavor had lasted about a half hour. The take away being that there needs to be clearer signage, as there was not very clear directions of how to get into the Forum.
Inside the Forum itself there were various areas that you could explore. Most notably however, was a outlook over the Roman Forum and the city of Rome itself. From this outlook you could see sites such as the Colosseum, the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, the Vatican City and the mountains in the far away distance.
Down below where the main attraction of the Forum was, remained crowded while I walked around. Back in the day the Roman Forum was the central hub for activity in Ancient Rome. As you walked around you could admire the ruins of what was left of buildings, including some of the walls as well as the foundations and remaining pillars. It was amazing to think that archeologist are still in the process of uncovering more of the ruins every so often. This goes to show the pure genius of the Roman when it came to architecture, it surely shows that they knew how to build buildings that would last.
The Forum also had various gardens within that you could explore. These gardens had various marble statues of various people as well as these really neat tubs. The water within these tubs reflected the morning sky, giving one an impression as if they were some kind of portal in which you could go through that would transport you to another realm.
After I had finished within the Forum, I proceeded onwards to the Victor Emmanuel II Monument from which on top, offered yet another impressive view of the city. On the top of the Monument there were these rather animated seagulls that were posing for selfies with tourist. I am not kidding when I say that these seagulls were posing for selfies. These seagulls were the most friendliest seagulls I have ever met ( now is that not an oxymoron?). In addition, if it tickled your fancy and you wanted to pay an arm in a limb, you could order a drink or a meal at the little restaurant from atop the Monument.
For my next adventure I found myself in the Piazza Navona is a large plaza that is comprised of three fountains. The central fountain was the most important.
This fountain was comprised of four different characters facing in all different directions as you circled around the fountain.
I made my way for a quick lunch break at a Pizzeria down the street from the Piazza. I ordered a plain cheese pizza. I came to find out however, that rather than eating pizza with your hands, the Italians eat pizza with a fork in knife. I tried eating the pizza with a fork and knife, but it felt very odd doing so. Eventually I gave up and just ate the pizza with my hands as normally would. It was definitely the best pizza I have ever had though!
The final stop of my adventure for today was the Castel San 'Angelo. From atop the Castel you could enjoy beautiful views of the River Tiber as well as the Vatican City. The interior of the Castel was nothing special, but you could spend a good amount of time just sitting up top of the Castel and enjoy the view.
Absolutely exhausted from the days adventures I slowly walked back to the city center. I decided that I would go and people watch at the Trevi Fountain. I went and got a Gelato and found a comfortable place to sit and began to observe the people around me.
The way that the Trevi Fountain is step up is by three tiers. By going down each tier you get closer to the fountain. As I noted in my journal yesterday, I talked about the tradition of throwing the coin over your back and into the fountain. I observed as many people did this. What was humorous about this ritual was the fact that people were trying to throw the coins from both the second tier and the third tier. Most of the time the coins they threw did not even land in or anywhere near the fountain. Sometimes if it did manage to go in it would bounce off of someone's head and then plop in. It was mildly entertaining way to spend a half hour or so until I got up and went back to my hotel.
I tried to make the most of day as I never knew if I would ever get to go back to Rome. As a result it was a very strenuous and physically draining day. However, in this case the reward of seeing this amazing city out weighted the exhaustion. Tomorrow I will be headed to the Vatican City as well as exploring a neighborhood called Travestre.
I had acquired a Roma Pass which gives you faster access to the sites than opposed to waiting in the regular lines. The first two sights that you enter are free of charge and then any sight after that will be half price. You also are given unlimited travel via the Metro or the bus system in Rome. It is well worth the investment and it easily pays for itself, in time and money.
Once inside I instantly feel in love with the interior. It was exactly what I had always dreamed it to be like. To start off it was just amazing to think that I was standing in the same arena that some 1000 years ago, Ancient Roman's once spectated gladiators fight to the death. Secondly, that the building had been able to stand the test of time.
In the center of the arena you could see the underground walls and passages that gladiators and guards alike once walked through. These walls and passages were a very complex labyrinth that I could not have imagined navigating.
Alongside the outer edges of the arena was the stadium seating. Although not much was left of the seating other than the incline of where the seating use to be, if you closed your eyes you could easily visualize what it looked like. I even went as far to imagine what the roar of the crowd might have sounded like and what they might of been wearing.
What was also really neat about this experience was that the Colosseum itself was fairly empty as most people were still waiting outside just to get in. This allowed me to enjoy and appreciate the experience more so than if it had been packed with other tourist.
I left the Colosseum feeling blissful and full of delight; it was definitely something I want to go back and see some day.
Next on the agenda was the Roman Forum. After acquiring my ticket, I then spent the next half hour trying to find the entrance to the Roman Forum itself. It was communicated to me originally that the entrance was up the hill on my immediate right. Up the hill I went thinking nothing of the fact that no one else was heading in the same direction as I was. Heck the whole Roman Forum surrounded me so I had nothing to worry about, right?
Unfortunately when I reached the top of the very steep hill the entrance was closed and a sign told me to use the alternative entrance via the street. I walked back down the hill and spent the next several minutes trying to locate this street. Once I finally found it the entire endeavor had lasted about a half hour. The take away being that there needs to be clearer signage, as there was not very clear directions of how to get into the Forum.
Inside the Forum itself there were various areas that you could explore. Most notably however, was a outlook over the Roman Forum and the city of Rome itself. From this outlook you could see sites such as the Colosseum, the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, the Vatican City and the mountains in the far away distance.
The Forum also had various gardens within that you could explore. These gardens had various marble statues of various people as well as these really neat tubs. The water within these tubs reflected the morning sky, giving one an impression as if they were some kind of portal in which you could go through that would transport you to another realm.
After I had finished within the Forum, I proceeded onwards to the Victor Emmanuel II Monument from which on top, offered yet another impressive view of the city. On the top of the Monument there were these rather animated seagulls that were posing for selfies with tourist. I am not kidding when I say that these seagulls were posing for selfies. These seagulls were the most friendliest seagulls I have ever met ( now is that not an oxymoron?). In addition, if it tickled your fancy and you wanted to pay an arm in a limb, you could order a drink or a meal at the little restaurant from atop the Monument.
For my next adventure I found myself in the Piazza Navona is a large plaza that is comprised of three fountains. The central fountain was the most important.
This fountain was comprised of four different characters facing in all different directions as you circled around the fountain.
I made my way for a quick lunch break at a Pizzeria down the street from the Piazza. I ordered a plain cheese pizza. I came to find out however, that rather than eating pizza with your hands, the Italians eat pizza with a fork in knife. I tried eating the pizza with a fork and knife, but it felt very odd doing so. Eventually I gave up and just ate the pizza with my hands as normally would. It was definitely the best pizza I have ever had though!
The final stop of my adventure for today was the Castel San 'Angelo. From atop the Castel you could enjoy beautiful views of the River Tiber as well as the Vatican City. The interior of the Castel was nothing special, but you could spend a good amount of time just sitting up top of the Castel and enjoy the view.
Absolutely exhausted from the days adventures I slowly walked back to the city center. I decided that I would go and people watch at the Trevi Fountain. I went and got a Gelato and found a comfortable place to sit and began to observe the people around me.
The way that the Trevi Fountain is step up is by three tiers. By going down each tier you get closer to the fountain. As I noted in my journal yesterday, I talked about the tradition of throwing the coin over your back and into the fountain. I observed as many people did this. What was humorous about this ritual was the fact that people were trying to throw the coins from both the second tier and the third tier. Most of the time the coins they threw did not even land in or anywhere near the fountain. Sometimes if it did manage to go in it would bounce off of someone's head and then plop in. It was mildly entertaining way to spend a half hour or so until I got up and went back to my hotel.
I tried to make the most of day as I never knew if I would ever get to go back to Rome. As a result it was a very strenuous and physically draining day. However, in this case the reward of seeing this amazing city out weighted the exhaustion. Tomorrow I will be headed to the Vatican City as well as exploring a neighborhood called Travestre.
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