First day in Rome

We got to Rome around 1030am, got settled in the apartment we were staying in then hit the town.  Our apartment was REALLY close to the Colosseum, which was very nice!

The apartment we stayed in was the orange building on the right and that is the Colosseum you see at the end of the road

Since the Colosseum was so close we decided to walk that way and see how long the line was for that.  It was pretty long, Dan had read somewhere that it’s best to get your ticket at the Roman Forum because the lines are not as long, so we headed over that way.  For those of you who don’t know, the ticket you buy at the Colosseum is also good for the Roman forum and vice versa.  There was a little line at the Roman Forum, but not nearly as long as the Colosseum.  We waited about 15-20 minutes in line, then walked through the Roman Forum.  I thought the Roman Forum was amazing, just in awe how some of those things are still standing. 

Old mosaic on the ground

This….fell from the next picture

See the piece that’s missing, it was on the ground below

After the Forum we walked around Rome and saw these sites…

The back of the Pantheon

View from the side

The Front

In the square where the Pantheon was, there was a neat fountain

Inside the Pantheon

The world's largest unreinforced concrete dome

The floors were made uneven so that when water came in through the opening at the top of the dome, it would drain properly and go into these holes in the floor

Piazza Navona

This place had some amazing Gelato!

Trevi Fountain

Gladiator on his i-Pad- by the Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

On our way back to the apartment we went back to the Colosseum and there was no line, so we walked right in!

Old stairs, they were so worn down, most looked like a ramp

After the Colosseum we went back to the apartment and rested for a bit before going back to dinner and seeing Rome at night.  It was beautiful all lit up.  I will post those pictures tomorrow.  We saw SO much the first day of Rome, got a lot accomplished that day and I still can’t believe how amazing it all was!