Beer Pong at the Yellow Hostel |
I woke up early and headed straight for the Colosseum. I had a gypsy insist on helping me purchase my metro ticket. I offered her a Euro penny but she declined... Immediately after I walked away a cop yelled at the gypsies to get away from the ticket machines.
Colosseum in the morning |
I decided to buy a ticket to go into the Colosseum, because then you can also go into the Roman Forum across the street. The size and deteriorated condition of the Colosseum are very apparent as you walk around. But also, as I stood at the end of the oval, looking down into the rooms that would be below the sandy fighting area, I had tears come to my eyes. I stood there imaging the hundreds of people, tigers, bears, and other creatures that had been forced to fight for their lives here.
How many living creatures died in the sandy center stage of this
arena? We will never know.
There are a bunch of black cats living at the Colosseum. |
I walked over to the Roman Forum and tried to figure out the
cryptic map they provide you with when you walk in. It’s useless…
So I just started walking.
Turns out the Roman Forum is very big! I covered a third of it before I gave up and
exited to go search out some lunch and take a siesta.
Arena inside the Roman Forum |
The Pines of Rome with the Colosseum in the distance. |
After my siesta, I got back on the metro and went up to the Trevi
Fountain. I was very excited to see this
fountain. It looks so beautiful in all
the pictures I’d seen. I walked around a
corner and heard the sound of a lot of people talking… Turns out Trevi Fountain
is a hot spot!
Square near metro stop for Trevi Fountain |
Trattoria on my way to Trevi. Scooter parking only! |
It was so crowded. I tried
to get up close and take pictures without anyone’s head in my way. I had to fight the crowd to the front… What a circus?!
Me and the Trevi Fountain |
I quickly headed on my way to the Pantheon. This building is very old and the dome is
bigger than the one at the Vatican. The
outside of the building looks very dirty and worn out with little dents and
holes in the stone.
Pantheon |
But the inside is beautiful, with a big hole in the center of the
dome to let light in. It also lets water
in, so there are cones around the center of the floor where there are little
holes in the marble to let the water drain.
Birds flying past the hole in the dome of the Pantheon |
I rested on the front steps of the Pantheon and stared at one of
the many Egyptian obelisks in Rome. I
thought about Cleopatra for a while and then headed off to the Piazza Navona.
The Piazza Navona is a very large square… but it’s actually shaped
like a rectangle. There was a sort of
Christmas festival setup with retail stalls everywhere. Off to one side is a bright carasel, busy
with happy children. In the center is a
beautiful fountain with another obelisk in the center. There’s a lot to do and see at this square,
but I was running out of steam and the sun was setting.
Piazza Navona |
I headed down a busy main street towards the Vittorio Emanuele II
Monument. This monument is quite
impressive in size and at night they have it lit up beautifully. I walked around taking pictures, but feeling
the energy drain from my legs.
Vittorio Emanuele II Monument |
So I continued towards the Colisseum which was the closest metro
stop at that point. Of course, I had to take
some night shots of the Colisseum and then I headed back to the hostel.
Roman ruins |
Colosseum and the moon |
I ran into Nicole at the hostel bar. It was almost dinner time and she wanted to
go eat somewhere later. I explained that
my legs were jelly and I needed to rest.
I passed out in my top bunk for two hours. I finally threw myself out of bed, but I felt
like crap.
So luckily Nicole agreed that we could just go to the restaurant
across the street where my beer pong partner from the night before worked. We got him as our waiter and we were able to
get to know him a bit better. He was
from the Ukraine, but had lived in Rome with his parents most of his life. At the moment he was studying at a university
in Rome and working and partying all at the same time.
After dinner, Nicole headed out to find nightlife in Rome and I
headed back to my bunk to pass out.
Nicole ended up getting her dance on and I got a very deserved good night
sleep in preparation for our journey to France the next day.
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