Rome - part 2

We headed to Villa Borghese after the Spanish Steps. This place was acquired by the State in 1903 from the noble Borghese family due to them not paying their taxes to the State. It had been in the family for generations but has been turned into a public park. From here, you can see Rome from above.

It was then onto the Roman Colosseum. This is where our tour ended and we were free to visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum on our own. Unfortunately, tickets for the Colosseum were sold out, but we were able to tour the Roman Forum. Guess we will have to come back! The Forum for centuries was the centre of day-to-day like in Rome. Elections, public speeches, criminal trials and gladiator matches took place here. The Roman Kingdom's earliest shrines and temples were located here going back as far as 8th century BC.

On our walk back to the hotel, we passed Vittoriano, a national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honor the first king of the unified Italy. It is interesting to learn that Italy, as a unified country, is younger than the United States (1861). There are also approximately 980 churches in Rome - with more than the majority catholic .

We dined at a local pizzeria and then walked to Piazza Campo de' Fiori (where our tour ended last night). For dessert, we stopped and got a gelato and later, profiteroles and aragostas. Yum!Read more