Rome day one

After a broken sleep we were up early to have breakfast organized by Luccia the owner of the Flower house B&B, who does not speak a word of english. Breakfast consisted of a croissant with a sweet filling that is about the same size and shape of a bread roll. The coffee was really dark and only warm so had to try and explain this with sign language. Next was getting our air conditioner working properly and then organizing a key to get in the kitchen to access the fridge. As you can imagine with the language barrier it made for a few good laughs.
Our first stop after breakfast was the Santa Maria Maggiore Church. This just looks like another of Rome’s big buildings from the outside but once inside all you can do is hold your breath at how awesome it is. The pictures give some idea but you really have to be there.
The sound of Rome is the constant sirens from the police who travel in packs of at least a couple of cars and a motorbike as they negotiate at speed through the bewildering mass of traffic. One officer has half his body hanging out the car window with a large red Lollie pop in his had waving it franticly and shouting to let people know they are coming. Motorists then need to find somewhere to try and pull over to clear a path, but that is easier said than done especially when it is busy. street crossings are like taking your life in your hands as green crossing signal does not mean that cars will automatically stop. If they thing they can get through they still will. Conversely pedestrians just walk out waving there hands and the traffic eventually stops for them. What’s amusing is that older people are really good at this. Some how though it all seems to work.
Next we walked to the Colosseum. This just loomed up at us as we came around the corner and again it was one of those OMG moments. It was with great relief that we walked passed all the lines (3 hour wait) and got our pre booked unique tour tickets that incorperated the newly opened lower and upper levels. This proved to be a great choice as we got well away from the crowds and had an amazing tour. Check out all the photos. With the ones taken underneath you have to imagine the entire floor covered in and how dark and smelly it would have been with oil lamps and animals every where to be slaughtered, hundreds of slaves and the noise. Slaves would spend all their lives here. The word arena comes from the Latin meaning sand because they needed so much of it thrown on the floor above the slaves to soak up all the blood.
Our tour guide explained to us how it would all have looked in it’s day and all I can say is that it was vulgar in it’s opulence, size and also in it’s cruelty. On the one day an Emperor killed 1000 animals all on his own. Many animals were made extinct because of this practice.
Next was the Palintino. This was were all the houses of the rich and famous of the time lived. Again it is a sprawling area that would have been a sight to behold. All that is left today are the fallen down remains of what once was.
Then down on down to the Roman Forum this was like the centre of their economic life at the time. It was here that we went inside a temple to see an exhibition on Nero.
Don’t let it be said we mucked around, as next we walked to The Vittorio Emanuel II Monument. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there so will try and get back later. From here we moved on to the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) built in 1735. This is one big and beautiful fountain. We also went inside a lovely church at the fountain.
After battling with the crowds you can see in the pics we decided to go and have tea at a little side street restaurant (3 courses for 15 euro each) and return to the fountain to see it at night. Again it is truly magnificent but oh my god the crowds, and this is not the busy time.
By this time we were getting a little jaded and decided to return home but as it was late the underground had closed and we could not find a bus stop to get back to our B&B so walking it was. This can prove awkward during the day let alone in the dark when it’s harder to see unknown and unpronounceable street names with a map that does not have a lot of detail. We were buggered with very sore & black feet when we finally arrived back. So at 12:30pm we finally turned the lights out and went to sleep with the air conditioner working & air plugs in place. It had been a long but amazing day that we would not have missed for anything.