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Published: October 8th 2012
This day was going to be great! We were greeted by the hotel cat (gatti) as we made our way to the hotel bus that took us to the Rome City Center. We didn't have to leave the hotel too early and got to the Coloseum at a leisurely pace. There were firemen practicing rescue maneuvers by the Tever River, so we watched for a little while and took pictures of the surrounding area. Turns out we got to the Coloseum a little early so we had our daily allotment of gelato and then Ricco explored the neighborhood.
We started our tour on time. I was a little disappointed the cute Italian wasn't our guide, but also relieved a little too because I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the tour if he was too close. Oh well, I will have to find a cute Italian when I return to the states.
As you can tell from all the pictures, the tour was fantastic. There was a lot to learn about the coloseum, the day and times back when the Gladiators fought in the big arena. What a crazy time and simple when your leader felt the
need to keep the people entertained to prevent riots.
We were able to visit the floor of the coloseum and the rooms under the coloseum, too. That was really interesting and made for a lot of pictures. Then we traveled up the stair cases to get to the various sections reserved for nobles, regular men and finally the women were on the floors / seats above all the others. Except for the Vestel Virgins, they sate close to the arena floor and could over rule the emperors vote to allow the gladiators to live or die.
We made our way out of the coloseum along the street and Gia decided to meet us at the end of the tour. We were able to go into the Roman Forum or Ancient Rome and into the Palistine gardens. A lot more stories, history and explanation by our tour guide. The tour was over just as the forum was closing. We saw a lot and had quite a bit of sensory over load by the end of the day.
We found a cab and made our way to the Disney store. Gia wanted to get something with Italy on it
for her grand-babies and I could pick up an item or two as well. Then we needed to find dinner. Our wine-o-meter was very low. We found a wonderful restaurant by the Pantheon. The waiter offered us some really good wine for half-price. It was Ricco & Gia's last night in Rome so we splurged. The wine was excellent but the meal was superb! The surroundings were also amazing and we all had a great time.
We found our way to the bus stop and back to the hotel. It had been a long day but very rewarding. Enjoy the pictures as much as I did the day!
Ciao Ciao!
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