Ancient Rome

Our trip to Ancient Rome started at 7:30 this morning, which is the only way to tour the ruins. We already had our tickets for the Colosseum, so we got to completely skip the line and go right in when the gates opened at 8:30. Getting to the Colosseum early has it's perks because 1.) it is blazing hot yet, and 2.) fewer tourists to photo bomb your pictures. We got to walk around for at least 15 minutes without herds of tour groups swarming, which was really nice to get to see descriptions up close.

The Colosseum is gigantic. Syd and I were trying to estimate how many workers/slaves it took to build a building that big back then. I don't know the answer, but my guess is that the Romans had plenty of labor because their empire was so expansive.

By 9:10, we had seen pretty much everything in the Colosseum, and toured all the levels so we went over to the Palatino and the Roman Forum. Both are in a big archaeological excavation area that is kind of like a big park. Before the ruins were uncovered, the excavation site was called the cow pasture in Rome because it was a big grassy field. There are a few trees to offer relief from the sun, but if you go later in the day, you would find yourself walking from shade spot to shade spot.

On top of the hill was the Palatino where the emperor's horses were kept and exercised for horse racing.  You can still see a small track. Horses were raced in what they call "the stadium," but now it is just a gravel pit. Supposedly the stadium was bigger than the Colosseum.

The Roman Forum is down below the hill and you can see the plaza or city center where people would gather. Most of the ruins are large columns or pieces of columns. The Forum is a good 30 feet below modern day street level so what we can see as tourists is only what archaeologists have dug up. Just think about all the ruins that are probably still hidden underground through out the city and no one knows about...

By 11:00 we had completed our tour of Ancient Rome and seen everything on Syd's list. That's what I call power touring.

With our productivity level so high in the morning, we got to see the Spanish Steps, something else that I missed my first time here. In the afternoon they were crammed with tourists but they are definitely pretty and different than other areas of Rome. I enjoyed seeing a new Roman Neighborhood that I had never been to.

As an aside, my favorite tour books are by Lonely Planet. Whenever I decide I want to go somewhere, the first thing I do is buy the Lonely Planet book to start my research. I have never been let down by a Lonely Planet restaurant recommendation in all the cities I have visited including Paris, Athens, Berlin, and Rome has been no different. Syd and I have been only eating at restaurants in the book since we arrived in Rome and the food has been spectacular. Today we tried arguably Italy's best gelatto place called San Crispino and it was on point. The gelatto was by far the best I have eaten in Rome, but I actually think my favorite gelatto was in Lido. Now we are off to eat at another Lonely Planet restaurant and I am looking forward to their lasagna.