Rome. Hot. Very hot. We were booked in to a tour of the Coliseum at 9.40 and were supposed to get there 20 minutes early. We misjudged how long it would take us to get there and ended up rushing. Eventually got to the Coliseum but were the wrong side and had to cross a busy road and walk round the whole thing. Pushing past the waiting crowds (legitimately because we had booked) we managed to get there just in time – and the guide was 5 minutes late anyway. The guide was an archaeologist, we went down to the basement and saw where the boats came in when the arena was flooded to re-enact naval battles and where the winches were to get the animals up to the arena.
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| View from underground showing the winch points. |
We then went briefly up to the second level with all the crowds before going up to the 3rd level that most people aren’t allowed. The arena originally had marble seats that were ground down for concrete in the middle ages. It also used to have a retractable roof made from sails.
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| Looking down from the 3rd level |
After the Coliseum we went for a gelato and then lunch (perhaps we should have done it the other way round.) We went to a place recommended in the apartment’s visitors book were you could have a taster menu of different pasta dishes. You could choose how many to have we thought 6 but the waiter suggested 4 ! We had gnocchi with gorgonzola, ravioli with ricotta and lemon, another pasta with mushrooms and radicchio and tagliatelle with ragu. We then found a patch of shade on a square to rest before heading up to Palatinate Hill to make use of the free entrance included with the Coliseum tickets. It was hot but some good views from the top.
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| Eating gelato is a messy business in the heat |
Ate out again in the evening at a non-descript tourist restaurant on the street. The pizza wasn’t bad, good crispy bases. We then walked to the Trevi fountain, which was amazing, hundreds of people crowded round and all lit up.
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| Crowds at the Trevi fountain |
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