On our last day in the beautiful city we decided to visit the ancient ruins in the heart of Rome. We caught the metro to the Coliseum and took a short walk to the centre. One thing I love about Rome is that in the areas where all the ancient ruins stand, there are no shiny new buildings, no modern architecture and no Mcdonalds standing right in the middle of everything! We stumbled (ha.. it was pretty hard to miss actually) on this large white building, surrounded by tourists. It was white, glossy and guards stood at the gates. This is where we really wished we had our tour book to read up on touristy places so we knew what was worth seeing.
A view from the top of the Piazza Venezia
The large building we stumbled upon was the Piazza Venezia, a monument built in honor of the first King of united Italy and that backs onto the Capitoline Hill. We still wasn't sure what was inside but decided to have a wander around anyway. We took a few photos from the steps of the amazing surrounding architecture. Another thing I love about Rome is the tiny details placed into everything. You can find yourself drawn into the carvings in the walls that often tell a story. Inside the building is a museum showing statues, beautiful costumes and tombs of military men and monarchs that have lived in Italy throughout the years. We didn't go up, but there is also a sky lift that takes you to the very top of the building in order to give a panoramic view of the city!
L-R 1) Piazza Venizia 2) Guards surrounding lit candles 3) A view of the skyline from the steps. 4) A view from the back of the building overlooking Capitoline Hill.
By the time we had walked around the museum we were starving and so decided to hunt around for somewhere cheap to eat. This was so difficult and we were really surprised that there were not a lot of food places near the Coliseum - as there were so many tourists! After heading up a few side streets we found a beautiful little Italian cafe and had a cheeseburger (which I would of definitely called a panini) and Ian ordered some 'potato chips'... which we soon realised were crisps not chips - not quite the same as burger and chips!
We headed over to the Roman Forum, which is situated right next to the Coliseum and what used to be the bustling centre for anything happening in Rome. We saw the Palentine Hill, the gardens and all of the old ruins that formed the centre of Rome back in ancient times. We really wished we had comfier shoes as there was so much walking and the signs were not very clear so we walked in circles about 3 times. One thing I did appreciate was the fresh water fountains and we filled our bottles up at every opportunity.
L-R 1) Looking for somewhere to eat around the ruins. 2) The Roman Forum. 3) A view of the Coliseum from the forum. 4) The remains of the gardens inside the Forum
After a lot of walking and 10 bottle refills we decided to head back to the hotel to get out of the heat and rest our feet until dinner (whilst stopping by at mcdonalds for one of their amazing ice creams - SO good!). Later on we decided to have a walk around and make sure we knew where our bus was leaving from in the morning. We had a wander around the markets outside the Termini and bought some small coliseum statues for just one euro each.
It started to get dark so we decided to hit the metro and visit the Trevi fountain at night - we felt like pro's on the metro by the time the three days were up. We got off at the Spanish steps and was surprised it was as busy as it was during the daytime. Everything looked so much prettier and we decided to sit down, take some silly photos and do some people watching. We had a walk to the Trevi fountain, which looked equally as beautiful at night and was still surrounded by hundreds of tourists, taking photos and throwing cents into the water. We headed back to the metro before grabbing a quick mcdonalds (so cultural!) to take back to the hotel as we were up early for our flight the next morning.
L-R 1) Spanish steps in the evening. 2) Trevi fountain at night 3) Amazing ice creams from Mcdonalds
Things we learned from today...
- The coliseum/roman forum tickets double up - i.e you don't need to buy tickets to both if you go the same day/the next day!
- Find out where to get your return coach from and if it will have the same name as the one that dropped you off! Saves confusion and worrying!
- Watch out for pickpockets - Rome is full of petty crime so make sure you keep your camera/bags close by and anything valuable out of view
- Rome Ciampino is a very small airport and the departures lounge consists of one large room (we couldn't believe it either) and 2 hours is a long time to spend there, especially as there are few shops. We took some playing cards and food!
- It's a good idea to take some snacks e.g chocolate/crisps for when your hungry but don't want to walk to the shop from your hotel!
- Research the museums you want to see - its a small fortune for many museums when the real ancient ruins surround the city and are free to see!
- Pace yourself - try not to do everything in one day. We found three days was plenty and we were happy we saw everything we wanted to see.
- See the same attractions at night - they are much more beautiful!
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