The original plan for yesterday was to do the Forum and the Colosseum together. You may recall that we got half way through Palatine Hill yesterday when I called it quits. There was no way I was leaving Rome without seeing the Colosseum though! We got to the site fairly early and didn’t really hit any lines to speak of. The Roma Pass is helpful here though. We got off the 64 bus on the north side of the building. The Roma Pass shortcut line was almost immediately in front of us.
After picking up our audio guides, we headed up the super steep stairs with the rest of the throngs to second level. The audio guide was supposed to start overlooking the space, but we were distracted by the permanent and semi-permanent exhibits they had setup in the outer concourses. The exhibits explained the history and use of the Colosseum through the ages and showed how it influenced European artists and architects for generations.
When we finally popped out into the seating area of the Colosseum, we started the audio tours. This is the first one on this trip that I felt was a waste. While the wayfinding for the Forum was awful, the content, storytelling, and delivery were fantastic! The one for the Colosseum was confusing and very dry. Since we have for all intents and purposes unlimited data on our TIM sims, we downloaded Rick Steves’ free audio guide. It was a little cheesy, but overall a fantastic tour of the space. We’ll download more of his guides for Florence. And did I mention they’re free?
The Colosseum is spectacular! I struggle to comprehend how they managed the engineering of the floor and managing of the set pieces. It’s hard to believe that they could put a retractable awning over much of the space! It appeared that floor seats were so close to the action, I’m surprised that more spectators weren’t killed either by an escaping wild animal or by an attempting-to-escape convict forced to fight.
After spending the morning at the Colosseum, we decided to wander the neighborhoods to the north before working our way home. In the process, we managed to stumble upon the President’s residence, another obelisk for Kris’ collection, and the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks.
The Capuchin Monks are an offshoot of the Franciscan friars. They maintain a crypt decorated in the bones of their brethren. I had seen pictures before and wasn’t sure if I really wanted to see this curiosity, but when we stumbled upon the church in our wandering, I decided it was a sign we should see it. Hands down, this was the best audio tour of the trip so far. Extremely engaging and very entertaining! By the time we headed into the crypt, I had a good understanding of why the brothers had created it, beyond just a macabre curiosity. This was a very interesting side bar and I’m very glad we happened upon it.
After stopping by the apartment to freshen up, we headed to dinner at Il Convivo. This was a pretty fancy-pants affair, as was confirmed when the head waiter handed me a water menu that listed dissolved mineral percentages as well as pH. It was further reinforced when they handed me a menu without prices, but Kris got a menu with. I haven’t see that schtick in a long time! Dinner was excellent and if you’d like to see more, check out Kris’ Facebook posts chronicling the meal.
After dinner, we met our AirBnB host for a tour of the hills. She generously offered to take us around to see some of the further-away sites that are best seen at night. We saw the complete panorama of the city and it was breath taking. She also took us to the hole in the door. The photo below doesn’t do it justice, but basically, someone built a compound in front of one of the best views of the city. But they preserved the view by framing it in an arch and then providing a hole in the guard door that perfectly aligns with the arch to double frame the view.
I’m sad to be leaving Rome, but excited for the rest of the trp. Here’s to seeing what Grosseto and Florence hold in store for us!
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