Another early morning today in Rome. This time we are heading to the Colosseum to enter at 8:30am when they open. It was a bit too far to walk from our hotel, so we grabbed a taxi and headed there about an hour early so we had time to walk around. About 5 minutes after we arrived, the Colosseum exterior lights turned off. I was able to grab a couple pictures before it did though.
Around 8:15am or so it started to get crowded and lines started to form. We were somewhere in the middle despite getting there first.
Once it opened, we passed through security and climbed the stairs. We followed the pathways throughout the Colosseum and were presented views from all different vantage points. We could see the area floor, the pits, the stadium seating, and we went higher up to look down upon it all. I didn’t expect it to feel so big inside and you can start to imagine what it was like in the past; how noisy and crowded it would be.
As you looked to the arena floor and the pits below, you could only wonder how much death and bloodshed took place here.
Inside the walkways, there were various artifacts on display.
After our self guided tour of the colosseum was complete, we went to the adjacent Roman Forum. Our ticket was a multi site entry, so we were granted access to walk this area as well.
After leaving the Roman Forum, we made our way to the Father of the Alterland.
The Father of the Alterland is a national monument that honors Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy.
Again, more construction here which obstructed some of the view. Like the Colossseum, I don’t think photos do the size of this building justice. It is immense! The amount of stone and marble is unbelievable.
I was just expecting to view it from the outside, but we were able to walk up the steps and navigate around and through it.
After we finished navigating the unbelievably big monument, it was time for lunch. We headed back toward our hotel and had you guessed it, more pizza. Later in the day we stopped for some Italian Gelato.
Gelato is the common Italian word for all types of ice cream.
After we had our fill of Gelato, we took a small break before dinner. I made reservations for dinner at Settimo Roman Cuisine and Terrace. I had pasta amatricana and my wife had spaghetti carbonara.
