Today we were Gladiators! In Rome! Italy!
Our mission was to see as much as possible by foot, bus and tour guide. We spent most of the morning on the bus through the city. Our tour guide pointed out several historic sites of Roman importance while I feverishly tried to get good pictures out the window.
Situated between Aventine and Palantine Hills, you can see the remains of Circus Maximus. This is the first and largest chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue of ancient Rome. It was able to accommodate 250,000 spectators. The site is now a public park.
We passed by the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II) a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. This has structure has been controversial since its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill. The monument itself is often regarded as conspicuous, pompous and too large amidst the generally brownish buildings surrounding it.
On foot, we traveled back to the Colosseum. Located right beside this ampitheater sit the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city known as the Forum. We decided against paying the entrance fee to walk through the ruins...because a picture is worth a thousand words and cheaper than admission!
There were a few more things on our list to see in Rome, but it didn't look like we were going to make it before the end of the day. We were scheduled to eat dinner with our tour group tonight and our sightseeing opportunities were quickly coming to an end. Looks like we would miss hiking up the Spanish Steps, seeing Piazza del Popolo (People's Square) and buying a souvenir shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe!
So we trotted down to the Piazza Navona before dinner tonight. This is one of the city's best known squares, or piazzas, and known for its impressive Renaissance and Baroque architecture, several fine buildings, monuments and churches, and numerous open-air bars, pizzerias, restaurants, cafes, stalls and artists.
Our mission was to see as much as possible by foot, bus and tour guide. We spent most of the morning on the bus through the city. Our tour guide pointed out several historic sites of Roman importance while I feverishly tried to get good pictures out the window.
Situated between Aventine and Palantine Hills, you can see the remains of Circus Maximus. This is the first and largest chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue of ancient Rome. It was able to accommodate 250,000 spectators. The site is now a public park.
We passed by the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II) a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. This has structure has been controversial since its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill. The monument itself is often regarded as conspicuous, pompous and too large amidst the generally brownish buildings surrounding it.
On foot, we traveled back to the Colosseum. Located right beside this ampitheater sit the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city known as the Forum. We decided against paying the entrance fee to walk through the ruins...because a picture is worth a thousand words and cheaper than admission!
There were a few more things on our list to see in Rome, but it didn't look like we were going to make it before the end of the day. We were scheduled to eat dinner with our tour group tonight and our sightseeing opportunities were quickly coming to an end. Looks like we would miss hiking up the Spanish Steps, seeing Piazza del Popolo (People's Square) and buying a souvenir shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe!
So we trotted down to the Piazza Navona before dinner tonight. This is one of the city's best known squares, or piazzas, and known for its impressive Renaissance and Baroque architecture, several fine buildings, monuments and churches, and numerous open-air bars, pizzerias, restaurants, cafes, stalls and artists.
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