July 7th-9th - When in Rome!

We're currently in Rome! We arrived in the early afternoon because the trains were actually not a complete charlie foxtrot for once. Immediately we found a market and bought some food because we're staying in a place for a kitchen!!!! It's a converted 16th century convent and only open to women. After buying food we were both exhausted and decided to rest a bit, we napped, I blogged, we booked some future travel stuff, and it was pouring rain outside so it seemed like a good day to be lazy. For lunch we made bruschetta and for dinner pasta with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichokes. They were both delicious and we saved a bunch of money not eating out and had plenty of leftovers for the next day!

The courtyard, they have rehearsals at night
for a show. It hasn't been a problem so far except the
main female vocalist cannot stay on key.

Alyssa and I got a bit of a late start but enjoyed a walking tour of half of Rome. It was pouring rain and this was the one day we BOTH forgot our umbrellas but Alyssa bought one from a guy running from the cops so we stayed kind of dry. The tour started at the Spanish Steps (they are outside the Spanish Embassy) and continued to the Trevi Fountain, Roman Forums, and outside of the Colosseum. Most of the day was taken up by getting lost in Rome and walking a ton.

Alyssa and I threw coins in

The next day we got ourselves up relatively early for once and made a full day of tourist activities! First we went on a second free tour and this one was quite a bit better. We saw a bunch of stuff and a lot of artwork by Bernini but the most interesting spots were the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Vatican City. The Pantheon was built in 126 AD and is the best-preserved Roman building. 

The ceiling and only window in the Pantheon

Entrance

The tour ended at the Vatican so we went into St. Peter's Basilica and up the 321 steps to the capula.

Vatican City
We walked to the very top of the dome in the background

St Peter's (the apostle and the first pope)
Tomb is at the bottom of this pic

St Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo's Pieta

View from the top

After the Vatican we were both exhausted and pretty gross from the Italian heat so we needed some food and air conditioning stat! We made our way on the metro to the Colosseum area and stopped for food. I had salmon with a small salad and I forgot to take a picture! I promise, it wasn't anything special. It then started raining again but you know we didn't forget our umbrellas this time!


The Roman Forum is quite remarkable. It's an ancient area of Rome where buildings, homes, shops, etc can all still be seen and dates back to the 5th-1st centuries BCE. There is so much there and I could write forever but I won't! Here are just a few of what I found most interesting.

The Curia is the senate building originally constructed by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus. The ceiling is modern but the marble floor inside is original and has benches where the senators would have sat when they met. This may be the spot where Caesar was assassinated. There were some conflicting signs, I'll have to look it up.

The Temple of Caesar was erected by Augustus over the spot where Caesar was cremated after his assassination in 44 BC.

All that remains of the temple

Inside where Caesar was cremated

Other photos from the forum:

A part of the Roman Forum and right next to the above is the Colosseum. We saw the outside the previous day but we didn't get a chance to go inside. It's a neat place with so much history. There is a small exhibit on the second floor that explains what life was like and how the Colosseum functioned back in the day. Built almost 50 meters high and capable of holding 75,000 spectators this structure was mostly used for gladiator flights. One interesting note, the spectators were given tokens which they could get wine with but they were only given a certain amount to attempt to avoid drunkenness.

Numbers at each entrance

The Arch of Constantine taken
from inside the Colosseum 

I don't think they really know how to park correctly in any European country! At least not the ones I've been to. The Italians double park each other all of the place, park at the corners of streets so they are practically in the center and everyone has to go around them, and park on the sidewalk. Basically we saw very few cars that didn't have any dents. I guess it's easier to find a parking space when you don't have rules!