Rome: Colosseum & Forum (Jan22)

We used our Eurail Pass for the first time to get the train from Naples to Rome. We stayed at Casa Della Palma, a bed & breakfast owned by Alessandro who turned out to be key in helping us understand how to navigate the city. We bought 2 Roma Passes, which were a great deal! 20 Euros each, and it covers all public transportation on train and bus for 3 days, free entrance to the first 2 attractions and the rest are half price!


The Colosseum was very much like walking into a modern day sports arena! It could seat 50,000 people, and we got to see the view from the emperors box! Part of the floor was removed so we could see the rooms and tunnels that the gladiators walked before entering the arena.


We walked up the hill to the Forum where we followed Rick Steve's suggested self-guided walk. We saw the Arch of Titus which took 50,000 Jewish slaves to build, the Basilica of Constantine, Temple of Julius Caesar (where his body was burned after his assassination) and the Temple of Saturn built in 500 B.C.

Next we followed Rick's "Dolce de Vita Stroll" down the Via Del Corso full of super expensive stores and Romans out for their evening stroll. This road has been here since ancient Roman times. It seems that everything that is Rome is built on top of everything that was Rome. We finished the evening with Michangelo's Grand Staircase, and finally the Pantheon with the best preserved interior in Rome.