We finally got out of the hotel by noon and headed toward the Colosseum and Forum. Along the way we stopped for a quick bite of pizza at a tasty tavola calda.
The plan was to go to the Forum, where we could buy a ticket that would let us into the Forum, Palatine and Colosseum over the course of two days. We were going to start in the Forum as the ticket lines at the Colosseum had been horrendously long on Saturday. But when we got there, there was no line to speak of, so we opted for the Colosseum today.
(no line, just a bunch of bobble heads!)
They are running an exhibition on Nero in the Colosseum and the Forum/Palatine. It seems to be an ironic twist somehow that Nero's name is plastered all over one of the buildings that blotted out part of his Golden House.
There were also some great views of the Arch of Constantine and the newly opened Temple of Venus and Roma.
Roman soldiers guarding the precious pile of San Pietrini!
Aud LOVED the Colosseum. It is her favorite so far.
In fact we had to go sit down for an extra few, final minutes before we walked out the gate. We walked around the outside of the Colosseum and checked out the anchor stones and brackets that used to support the awnings covering the crowds inside the Colosseum. The we headed up to the Ludus Magnus, a gladiator barracks and training area just across the street.
We stopped for some gelato before heading home via the Oppian Park. We saw yet another bride having her photo taken. June is definitely the month for weddings, this was the seventh or eighth one we have seen. There were many families out in the park and we stopped to watch the kids play and take in some of the ruins of the Baths of Trajan.
On our way back to the hotel we passed a ferramenta, or hardware store, and Lex was able to buy a new tape measure, since hers had failed to appear after much searching at home! And if you find yourself in need of a tape measure in Italy just ask for a "metro" or you can try "fila di misura" which seemed to get the point across to the clerk and amuse the other customer in the store!
Our dinner tonight was far superior to last night's. We walked across the street fro. Our hotel and ate at the Grotta d'Abruzzo, which seemed appropriate as Lex will be spending several weeks in the Abruzzo after Rome. Aud had some prosciutto e melon, followed by homemade tagliatelle al ragu, while Lex went with the bresaola and spaghetti alle vongole. Then we walked down to our new favorite gelato place, Il Gelatone. A perfect end to the day!!
2 comments:
I'm excited that they've opened up the Temple of Venus and Roma area. It must be a drag, though, that you have to pay to see the Forum now.
Yay, vongole!!! :-)
I have a dinner suggestion. I haven't been there, but a good friend of mine was in Rome last week, and he *highly* recommended Taverna degli Amici, in Piazza Margana. It's a couple of blocks from Il Gesu and Piazza Venezia, toward the old Ghetto area.
Thanks again, y'all, for keeping us updated.
BTW...I don't know if y'all enjoy this sort of thing or not, but I've had a great time there...
Just across the street from the Virgilio there is a gay bar that has drag shows every night. You won't recognize it during the day. The door isn't marked at all. But at night, you should be able to find it. There's a cover charge, but I'm telling you, it's a TON of fun. And the best part is that you don't get harassed like in so many clubs in Italy.
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