Colosseum & Exploring Rome

A slow morning resulted in lots of sleeping, with the big boys sleeping past 10 am! Odin did enjoy a piece of pizza at 2 am when he woke up but otherwise most everyone slept well and slept in. They almost slept too late as we had to rush out of the apartment to meet our drivers to take us to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.

We finally made it and met our guide. We all received ear pieces to hear her better and then we were off to the Roman Forum first. Starting a tour in the middle of the day was incredibly hot so we took our time going from shaded area to shaded area as we learned about the various monuments. Liam showed off his Roman numeral knowledge impressing the guide that he knew more than the basic I, V and X numbers and could also do 50, 100 and 1000. Peter kept us all hydrated by filling up water bottles every time we passed a fountain.

We then made our way over to the Colosseum. The kids were very interested in this portion of the tour! We found a great spot  inside with a breeze as we discussed the gladiators and various battles and performances that were put on inside. Everyone paid close attention and asked great questions. When we toured two years ago, we mostly stayed on the upper portion of the Colosseum. This time our tour took us down to the lower portion and right to the stage level. It was spectacular! We walked in like we were gladiators. We snapped lots of pictures and then made our way around the the Colosseum to the exit.

Our guide helped us find the next portion of our day: golf cart tours! We were behind schedule all day and didn’t have time for lunch so the first stop on the tour was gelato, of course. We enjoyed it cool treat as we drove through Rome seeing lots of different sights. When we got to Trevi Fountain, we stopped and walked down to the fountain. It’s so crowded but it was beautiful. Along the tour we saw the President’s mansion, the Spanish Steps,, various other buildings and marveled at the chaos of Rome. If your vehicle fits, it’s a road and you can drive down it. Can’t find a parking spot? Just double park and lock someone else in.

The three golf carts eventually navigated back to our apartment and dropped us off. We were all exhausted and took some much needed rest until it was time for dinner at L’Orso 80 - a 10 min walk. Surprisingly, we arrived a bit early for our reservation but the staff was still eating so we enjoyed the evening looking at a few shops and taking pictures in a picturesque Roman street. It was more pizza and pasta for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow’s activities start much earlier as our car service picks us up at 7:15 am to take us to the Vatican. No time for sleep when Keely plans vacation!