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Campidoglio
At the top of the stairs Tuesday, June 3- Ancient Rome and Trastevere
After waiting on the shuttle bus for close to an hour due to heavy traffic because of some big thing happening in the city, we were on our way to downtown Rome. Armed with only our wits and a map, we first decided to get some lunch. We found a small café called Antico Caffe’ del Teatro Marcello on the way to ancient Rome and stopped for some sandwiches, which were pretty good. Ryan got a chicken and spinach sandwich and Nicole got a ham and cheese sandwich. Little cafés, or trattorias, are really a dime-a-dozen in Rome, but it seems most are decent places for a quick lunch or a snack.
Our first destination of many for the day was Campodoglio, or Capatine Hill. We didn’t spend very much time there because as we wondered around the back we saw the Roman Forum and a monument for Vittorio Emanuele II. While not near as old as most of the other sites in the area, it was still quite amazing. The sheer size of some of the statues and bronzed monuments was unbelievable. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is also a
Campidoglio
The stairs to the top part of this monument. It is guarded by three machine gun carrying soldiers. They were very strict on rules such as sitting on the steps and things along those lines.
Next was the famed Roman Forum. Along the way we passed Colonna Traiana (which is where Emperor Trajan was at one time buried), and Mercanti Traiana. We made it to the entrance of The Roman Forum along Via dei Fori Imperali. Being able to walk along the same paths as the Romans did 2000 years ago was amazing. This area was the central location for the Romans. The ruins are amazing and go on forever. There are still arches that remain intact that include both the Arch di Settimio Severo and Arch di Tito, which is much larger.
After the Roman Forum, we made our way across the street to the Colosseo, or the Coliseum. The lines weren’t as bad as we heard or expected. We made it inside in less than 5 minutes. Although it’s as obvious as can be, the size of the Coliseum is truly amazing. Although you never get over the size, once inside we again remembered that the most awe-inspiring moments truly came
from trying to put yourself in the scenario 2000 years ago. To know that the little cat (they are ALL OVER Rome) lying on the floor of the Coliseum was once a lion preparing for his battle instead was an amazing thought.
After leaving the Coliseum, we moved on to Palatine Hill. This was the area that overlooked the Roman Forum. Many of the emperors lived in this area. We even visited Augustus’ home. There were a few rooms that even still have frescoes on the walls and ceilings.
To finish up Ancient Rome, we took a stroll around Circus Maximus. The police and National Guard are everywhere in this area and we’re pretty sure we saw what we are guessing was the President of Zimbabwe or Ethiopia. Due to all the commotion, we weren’t allowed in certain areas so we only made it about halfway around the track. People use the gravel track now as a place to walk their dogs or take a jog but walking around the long oval really makes you want a chariot to go speeding around!
All the walking and sightseeing in Ancient Rome made us extremely hungry! We crossed the
Tiber River at Ponte (Bridge) Palatino and wondered around Trastevere. This neighborhood isn’t too touristy and prides itself on being truly Roman. We found a great restaurant just down from Piazza Santa Maria called Carlo Mento. We sat outside under an umbrella and enjoyed our dinner. Nicole had the lasagna, which had a much different type of cheese than we have in the U.S., and Ryan had spaghetti carbonara, which is a mainstay in Roman cuisine. It has eggs, bacon, oil, and spaghetti. It was pretty good but very heavy. Nicole thought it was breakfast food!
Needing to walk off dinner, we wondered over to the Fonte Acqua Paolo. It was a fun little walk until we got to the giant hill we had to climb. The fountain was nice but the view was spectacular! You could look back east to see all of Rome. After this we deserved dessert!
Our first gelato experience was back down in Trastevere, right down the road from where we ate dinner. The gelato is amazing and it has lived up to all the hype! Nicole got the chocolate chip gelato and Ryan had a caramel cream gelato which was also really
Palatine Hill
Looking back toward the Coliseum good. After this long day, it was back to wait on the bus near the pretty church- Santa Maria in Cosmedin. We are exhausted!
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