Today was our last day of the trip. Today we planned to visit the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as well as anything else if we had time remaining. Before heading out, we walked to a hipster coffee shop and had what they called an English breakfast : A croissant with Nutella and sour cherry jam, toast, fried eggs, ham and cheese, orange juice, and a cappuccino. I barely finished everything.
We got to the Colosseum in the afternoon and had to wait until our time slot to enter. In the meantime, we sat down and people watched. There were people from all over the world. I saw people speaking different languages, tour guides talking about the different historic structures, and it was funny to see how people pose for their pictures. As we sat down, we also noticed a few people walking around trying to sell water bottle for 2 euros a piece. “Water, water, water, ‘ they would say. There was one guy who came to us about 5 different times who asked us if we wanted to buy one, I guess he does not have a very good short term memory.
The Colosseum was a lot bigger than I expected. Looking at the structure, you cannot help but think that several thousand years ago prisoners were thrown into the middle as lions would devour them or Roman warriors would fight each other to the death. It is kind of sick to consider that people found this display entertaining. Well, I guess they did not have television. Nevertheless, we walked around and took pictures and took in the vast beauty of the structure.
Near the Colosseum we walked around the Roman Forum which was composed of fragments of buildings and columns. The Roman Forum was known as the center of the town. Many of the remaining fragments were from the temples, many belonging to the royal family. It was pretty cool to walk among the ruins and consider that a few thousand years ago, people lived and worked right where I was standing, only these buildings were fully constructed.
Just to the left of the Roman Forum we visited Palatine Hill, which is known as the centermost hill in Rome and has some of the most ancient remains. I was most excited about the view that you can see from the top. It was stunning.
It was hot and humid outside so after we finished our tour, we got as far away as we could from the area and did a bit of shopping. After a little while, I suggested we pick up a snack, and gelato seemed just right. We went to a spot that was a bit hidden in the alleyways. It was really good. I enjoyed mint and basil gelato, which was light and refreshing.
We continued to shop for the next few hours, stopping at H &M, and the other little shops in the area before stopping to eat. For our last dinner in Rome we went to Pummarola Drink Ristorante. I enjoyed tomato and basil bruschetta, peach juice, and pork prepared Roman style with mixed vegetables. Simply delicious.
Lastly, we enjoyed our last Roman gelato across the street. I selected kiwi, blackberry, and apple as my flavors.
