Ancient Rome

Well today was definitely one of the most interesting days so far. We had a great lie-in followed by a great breakfast of bread, coffee and more bread. After breakfast we decided to visit Campo de Forioi which is an ancient fruit market near our hotel, as it had been at least 45min since we had breakfast we felt it was necessary to have a fruit snack. Now energized by our fruit snack we walked across the city in the sweltering heat to the remains of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. It was amazing seeing the scale on which it was all built and discovering more about the history of the city and how the remains are so fragmented due to years of plunder up until the late 1700’s. After looking around the Forum and Palatine Hill we walked on to the Colosseum which is incredible! We took an audio tour which explained all the history, along with many unbelievable stories, such as how they once found a whale on the coast; brought it into the colosseum; filled it full of live bears; hoisted the whale up onto the Colosseum floor; and then opened the mouth for the bears to escape and attack the gladiators!!

After leaving the Colosseum we walked back to the hotel for a customary nap before dinner. Following our nap we decided to go for a stroll to see the River Tiber and then find a restaurant nearby. Somehow we managed to find this tiny restaurant down a small quiet backstreet. The waiter was so nice he gave us a free appetizer and set us at his “most romantic” table. We enjoyed the appetizer, a 1/2 bottle of wine, and then our meal. After 8 days in Italy this was definitely the BEST meal we had! Not only did we get a great meal, but we also had good company. Towards the end of our meal an Italian man sat next to us and we had a great conversation. He was from Milan and he was one of the top violin makers in the world. He was a very gentle and friendly man, but at one point in the conversation he made a very good observation. He said that with most Americans he has seen, the girls seem to always put effort into the way they dress and look, but the boys seem to dress like slobs. For example...John. I was wearing a nice dress and John was wearing a soccer t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. I guess he had a point. We enjoyed chatting with him but soon decided it was time to head back to the hotel to get a somewhat early night. Tomorrow is the Vatican and the Catacombs :)