Rome

We had another big day of walking around Rome today!

We started with a walk to the Trevi fountain and surprisingly it wasn’t too packed and we were able to take some really good photos (Lucky us!) We also went to the (less famous) fountain right next to the Trevi Fountain (called the Fountain of Love / Fontanella degli Innamorati) which is said to give couples a long and happy marriage/life if they both drink from it! So of course, all 4 of us had to have a sip!!

We then made our way to the Spanish Steps, continuing to walk and chat amongst ourselves as this would be the last day we would be travelling together before we go off and do our own things for a couple of weeks. The Spanish Steps were not so busy as well because people were spread out and we are sure people didn't want to hang out too long in the heat! We did see some people being told off by the local police though for attempting to sit on the steps. So, we took our photos standing on the steps (and Gab had her Lizzie McGuire movie moment!)

We made our way to the ‘ruins’ side of town and went inside the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It really felt like walking back in time as we strolled past the old ruins as well as walking to the top of the hill for a spectacular view of the forum. We tried to picture what the place would have looked like some 2000 years ago with the remains of the temples and palaces - truly a very cool experience and probably our favourite place we visited in Rome.

We then went to the Colosseum, and having thankfully pre booked tickets we were able to skip the long lines and go inside quickly. We had audio guides as part of our entry which really helped to enhance our experience and provide interesting information about the colosseum and its significance in history.

Some facts we learnt from the audioguides included:
- The Colesseum was completed in 80AD and took less than 10 years to build (which is pretty impressive considering its size!!) It was built over what was previously a lake.
- the Colesseum today also contains a number of restorations from the years which followed the initial construction including restorations undertaken after a large file in 217AD.
- The famous gladiators were sometimes prisoners sentenced to death forced to participate, and at other times they were free citizens who chose the career of gladiators. Many slaves became gladiators to fight for their freedom.
- The capacity of the Colesseum was 65,000. It is crazy to imagine the sound and sight of that many people crammed into the space making a lot of noise (probably like a Souths v Roosters game).
- There were middle underground passages which were built later on. Visitors can explore these today but it costs a lot more and tickets are very limited so we didn't do that. Before these passages were built, the stadium could be filled up with water for "water games" - for example, a life battle between ships at sea!
- The entertainment back in the day also included animal hunts and executions (such as cruxifications, burning at the stake and animal attacks).
- Ancient writers describe how on one occasion a large whale was found on the Italian coast so for one of the shows, an enormous model of a whale was created and 50 bears came crawling out of its jaws. This is an example of the types of theatrics which occurred through the use of stage scenery, props and an elaborate pulley system.

After we had finished visiting the Colosseum (and were covered in sweat), the heat was starting to get to us so we made our way back to the place enjoying some gelato on the way - Gab had pistachio and matcha tea whilst Daniel had roasted almond and mango. Delicious as always!

We chilled out for a couple of hours and then had our last dinner together as we would be travelling separately for the next week or so.
We strolled around the lovely Travestere area in the south of Rome and found a nice place to eat with a courtyard.
We all enjoyed truffle pizza (truffle being one of Nicky's favourite things), pasta cabornara and a pesto pasta. All so delicious! We enjoyed some jokes with the waiter and topped it off with some lovely beer and wine. We strolled home and relaxed at home with some aperols, beers, lemoncello, music and cards before saying goodbye!Read more