The last major attraction we had yet to see was the Colosseum. Luckily, it was only a 10 minute walk away from our hotel and on the way we stopped by a cafe for croissants and cappuccino. Pro tip, there’s a bridge crossing over Via degli Annibaldi where you can get a great picture.
Like the Vatican museums, we had purchased our tickets ahead of time and were able to skip a long line. Unfortunately, like most sites we saw in Rome, the Colosseum is undergoing restoration, but it didn’t obstruct any of the viewing areas.
They also have a small museum where they show some of the artifacts that have been excavated over the years. They’ve used them to create some small scale models of what the Colosseum probably looked like and how all the ramps and pulley systems were used to raise animals to the fighting stage. They say it was even possible to flood the Colosseum for naval games.
Right next to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. This is essentially where Rome started. We walked around for a few hours and enjoyed the views from the hill side the most.
We continued up to Piazza Venezia, but were too hungry to stay long.
Vittorio Emanuele II
Instead, we went down a side street for lunch and grabbed some pizza and gelato. I ordered Snickers and Nutella. I thought they meant Nutella gelato, but it was straight up Nutella. Nonetheless, it was still pretty good and we enjoyed our meal on the steps as some guys dressed as Roman soldiers posed for pictures.
After resting at the hotel for a bit, we headed out to explore the city some more. There weren’t any major sites that we had left to see, so we just decided to walk down any street that looked interesting. That turned out to be just about every street in Rome. We did find this quiet street for a nice hipster photo shoot.
On our way back we stopped for drinks and bruschetta along the street. Out of no where a pack of Buddhist monks playing music strolled down the street handing out fliers.
Earlier that day I had seen a gelateria with a really long line outside, but it was empty when we passed it on the way back to the hotel. Apparently it has been rated one of the best in the city so we had to try it. We got two flavors, Honey and Fragola(strawberry). It didn’t come in a cone like other places, but it was still legit.
Once it got dark out we went back to the Colosseum for some night pictures. On our way back we passed a square with a fountain that seemed to be the local hang out spot. There were people outside socializing, drinking beer, and dancing.
I’ll leave you all with one last comment. Rome is an amazing city, but the trip will be somewhat marred by the pushy street peddlers, guides, and scammers. It’s definitely something you don’t read about when planning a trip, but it’s a sad reality. It’s literally all anyone talks about on YikYak in the area. Here were some of my favorite comments:
I want to beat someone trying to sell me a selfie stick with a selfie stick
To take down the selfie stick empire: infiltrate the dealer, find the supplier
If you see a forlorn peddler selling selfie sticks it’s probably because I just told him my arm is just as good
Just know that if you visit Rome, expect to be heckled.
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