Day 30 - Rome!

What an awesome, long day! After breakfast at the Airbnb and dropping our laundry off at a laundromat, we set off to explore the city. We crossed the bridge towards the city center and ended up in Piazza Navona where we bought a mini map. Then we walked a couple blocks out of the piazza to the Pantheon - one of the oldest monuments/buildings in Rome, built in 27 B.C. We wandered around a little longer and then split a salad and salami pizza for lunch. Next, we picked up our laundry and went back for a long rest.

After a nap and showers, we headed off for more city exploring. We walked along the the Fiume Tevere river towards the southern part of the city and then crossed over to the Teatro Marcelo, the only ancient theater left in Rome, conceived by Julius Caesar. It is huge and surrounded by the ancient ruins of fallen columns. Next, we had one of our best dinners yet in the Jewish Ghetto - an appetizer of fried codfish, zucchini flowers, and Roman artichoke. Then, Tim had lamb chops with rosemary potatoes and I had another spaghetti carbonara (last night's wasn't very good and I needed to get it right, which I fortunately did tonight!). For dessert, we split the best tiramisu of the trip.

After dinner, we went to meet our tour group for a night tour of the Colosseum and several other historical monuments around it. We saw the Trajan tower, the ancient Forum, the Venezia Square (where Mussolini lived), and several other ruins and monuments. Then, we went inside the Colosseum, after hours, where our tour of 20 was the last group of people inside. It was awesome. We walked along the upper corridors, walked down onto the arena, and even went down into the basement of the gladiator and animal chambers, which is closed to the public. Now, we are exhausted and ready for bed before our Vatican tour in the early morning!!

Rome is probably my favorite of the big cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Florence) so far on this trip - everywhere you look, there are ruins and monuments and beautiful historical buildings. Can't wait for tomorrow!Read more