May 29, 2024

Today I am going to explore inside the Colosseum! I headed out early to get to the meeting spot for my tour but I ran into trouble when I could not find it using google maps. I reset it 5 times and still could not find the right spot so I made the mistake of asking a police officer who was sitting in his car drinking coffee for assistance…..bad move! First he called me a “a stupid American” told me I could not read and refused to help me. I said graze (thank you) and walked away. I finally found it behind a barricade that had been setup for the parade on June 2nd.

The Colosseum is an is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world, despite its age. Construction began in.AD  69 and was completed in AD 80. Earthquakes have destroyed most of it but years of restoration has created a vision of what this incredible venue was. Gladiators were the main entertainment as they fought each other and animals for the amusement of the spectators who were seated by status with the marble seats closest to the floor reserved for the richest and most powerful. The ruins that are below the arena floor housed the gladiators prior to the fights.

Note all the irregular holes in the walls…this is from stone robbers who chipped away the stone to get to the metal inside.

After the Colosseum we wandered around the area where the Roman forum and Palatine Hill. This area was at one covered in 15 feet of dirt and has been excavated to reveal how the wealthy Roman’s live. The one center court fountain has been restored to show the opulence of palaces that existed.

Ok,have you had enough history and tramping through ruins???? I had so for the evening I treated myself to a food tour by golf cart. Yes, this is a cheat day as I wanted to experience the cruise of Italy.

Our first stop was for a spritz that was pared with a selection of cured meats and cheeses at a 3 Ercoli Trastever where we sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender as he shared how to make a spritz.

Then we drove to Terazza del Gianicolo which is one of the highest points in Rome for both the view and for a Prosecco toast. There was a guy playing a music that completed this spectacular moment!!

At Trattoria Da Enzo al 29 we had the best jewish style artichoke ”to go” and stood in the small alley to eat it.

We stopped at a tiny restaurant in the Jewish section for fried cod that was the lightest most wonderful fried fish I have ever had!!

At Mercato Di Testaccio LRistorante Angelia we tried a unique version of a Roman pasta dish, while sipping some great wine in a top class restaurant normally takes weeks to get a reservation.

Our last stop was at Giolitti where we had Italian gelato at a centuries old Gelateria!

What a perfect way to spend an evening! I am so full of yummy food and a bit drunk from all the alcohol!!

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