Ancient Tripsters?

Monday, May 20th...

After walking over what seemed the entire ancient city the day before, a short walk from our hotel to the terminal (Termini) was welcomed. As one Epic Tripster put it, "My feet are on fire!!". The day started off with a well earned, short, metro ride from the Termini to the Colosseum.

Colosseum - View from the Station

After the metro ride, as we walked up out of the underground station, the site of the massive structure hit us straight in the face. It truly is... Colossal! For anyone thinking about heading to Rome, the "Roma Pass" is a MUST. It may seem a bit pricey, but it pays for itself quickly. Our metro ride was as easy as a swipe of the Roma Pass card. We walked up to the daunting lines at the Colosseum, our Roma Pass allowed us to walk by all of those in queue, and head straight through the gate. Awesome, we were in!

Inside the Colosseum

We walked the entire interior of the Colosseum, North/South/East/West (Up/Down), it was great. Before leaving the US, Amy had that great idea to download a few of Rick Steves' audio tours, we highly recommend them. Rick is usually accompanied by an expert in the particular topic and they walk you through the entire exhibit, pointing out interesting facts along the way. We used these in several churches as well. When touring the structure, it was easy to start thinking in terms of the modern sports venues we have today. But considering this was built thousands of years ago, it is truly impressive.

View of the Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum

As we exited the Colosseum, it was easy to see that we were still among some of the most fascinating artifacts of Roman history. Straight ahead, there was the Arch of Constantine, to the right was the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We made our way across the large plaza to the Arch to take a few photos and observe the art commemorating Constantine’s triumphs and the rise of Christianity. Next, we made our way to the main entrance to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Again, the Roma Pass really saved us here. While we could have waited in line for what would have likely been hours, we walked right on by the queue, scanned our Roma Passes, and made our way to the Forum.

Basilica of Constantine

The Forum is a bit of a hike from the entrance, and after already walking quite a bit the last day or so it probably seemed longer than it actually was. As we crested the hill leading up to the Forum, we could see the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Julius Caeser, the Basilica of Constantine, Capitol Hill, and many other ruins. Again we plugged in Rick Steves’ audio tour of the Forum and we were on our way as he walked us through ancient history. Some of my personal favorites of the Forum area were the Basilica of Constantine, the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, and Capitol Hill. The Basilica of Constantine is massive, and it apparently was even bigger back when it was first constructed. As with many of these sights, it makes you wonder just how they were able to construct with seemingly much lower technology. I guess large amounts of manpower can eventually get the job done. The Temple of Antonius Pius I found interesting because of its large Roman columns, but also the different architectural style used on the rest of the structure. This was a common theme for most of the buildings we saw: Roman Rule, followed by the Christian Church rule, and the architecture shows it.

To me, Capitol Hill reminded me of our own Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (see Epic Trip II). The view from near the hill closely resembles our own as one can easily view the entire forum and the various arches across the valley.

The Arch of Titus

Capitol Hill

After walking around the Forum, we went of Palatine Hill. There’s not too much to see there, comparatively, but it’s interesting nonetheless. There are various ruins and gardens that are photogenic, which Jami took full advantage of by activating the macro mode on her camera!

By the time we left the hill, it was 2PM and we were starving! Amy had her list of restaurant recommendations from different books and friends, but most of those places were either closed or too far away. We opted instead to walk a few blocks and pick a restaurant we thought looked good. We literally and figuratively “paid the price” at this gem. A tip for those travelling in Rome: Nearly every location says right in front “Pizza, Pasta, Wine(, Gelato)”, but they are not all the same. The service was extremely poor, and the food was nothing special. Not to mention those seated behind us were extremely annoying (they weren’t Italians, but a German, American, and a Brazilian…don’t ask). After our late lunch we hiked back to the metro station, taking more photos of the Colosseum.

Piazza del Popolo

We didn’t really have anything else planned for the day so we took the opportunity to be spontaneous. We took the metro up to the Piazza del Papolo and had a quick siesta while taking in the sights and sounds. We’re apparently gluttons for punishment, because we walked down the street with no recommendations and ate at what appeared to be a nice establishment. We were lucky! The place (Otello alla Concordia) was great and after a long day we had an enjoyably long meal. On the way home we stopped by a highly recommended gelato shop called “San Crispino”, sat on some nearby stairs and had an excellent Italian treat. We made our way back home and hit the sack around 12:30AM. 

Otello alla Concordia - Great Place!