Adventures in Italy: Day 1

Sitting at the cafe that Saturday morning, we mapped a route as best we could to the Colosseum.

On our way there it was just as neat as any official monument to see the regular city of Rome, with its apartments, restaurants, and hordes of motor scooters. At a gift shop I found black and white postcards with scenes from my favorite movie, "Roman Holiday," with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. What a treat! I often found myself thinking of Audrey as we wandered the romantic streets of Rome. Eventually we turned a corner and the majestic Colosseum came into view. It is stunning, bigger and better than I had even imagined.

Thanks to our "personal tourguide", Rick Steves, we walked to a nearby tourism office and purchased the Roma pass, which allowed us to skip the long lines and get discounts on admission. "Ricky" would often come in handy during our trip.

Inside the Colosseum it felt as real as if the gladiators, wild beasts, and cheering crowds had been there only yesterday. I closed my eyes in the crisp sunlight and imagined it all, the stadium practically reverberating around me. It was magic! Because the wooden floor has long since rotted away, you can even see the labyrinthine "basement" where they kept the animals until it was time to fight. They have reconstructed part of the wooden floor and the bleachers to give you an idea of what it would have looked like, pretty impressive. You can even go up the large stone stairs to the second level, where the view is even more fantastic. It also has great views of the surrounding area. What a start to our trip!

After the Colosseum it was definitely time for lunch. Thanks to our friend "Ricky" we found our way to a wonderful little restaurant a block from the Colosseum, with a great view if you sat at the tables outside. I still had the Rick guidebook in hand when we arrived and the manager, Simona, saw it and welcomed us with open arms and a huge smile. "You are friends of Rick! Welcome! I have a special menu for you!" And from there she took care of us like guests of honor. We received a free aperatif (before dinner drink) and chips, a discount on our large, tasty meals (a whole pizza, just for me!), and amazing free dessert (a dessert croissant covered in icecream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce). We were all so surprised and pleased! I'll say it now and I'll say it again and again: "Ricky" never disappointed us.

From there we set out to visit the Roman Forum. Only problem: we didn't know what it looked like. After wandering for some time among unidentifiable ruins, we discovered that we were in fact in the middle of it! Oops. To be honest it is kind of disappointing when you don't know what you are looking at and then you realize "this is it." So it might have been better with a guided tour or something, but we decided to move on.

We happened to come across an impressive looking monument and we discovered that it was the tomb of the unknown soldier. Neat to see the Italian guards.

From there we made our way to the Pantheon. At this point I will admit (sheepishly) that I should probably have done more research on what we were going to be visiting. The Pantheon is clearly marked and is in fact a building that you can go into (easier to find than the Roman Forum) but it is not the Parthenon, which is what I was picturing. Yes, yes, I know the Parthenon is in Greece, but at the time that particular fact did not cross my mind. So we visited the Pantheon which was beautiful, anyway. The light is really cool in there, as there is a hole in the center of the dome.

Next we wandered toward Trevi fountain but at that point we were dog tired and a little grouchy, so we decided to save the fountain for later and trekked back to our hostel for a shower and a nap. We made plans to join the night tour/pub crawl that our hostel offered. More on our night out in my next post...