Are you ready for this? Well, I'm just warning you as it's another very long post haha. But honestly, we've seen and done so much and I just want to share it all! So here it is... Drum roll please... Part 2!
Well, yes, we actually managed to visit the Colosseum in the end! I kept telling Jason "Oh my god, that's from Gladiator!" haha! Jokes aside, it's definitely a must as it was fascinating to see this place where hundreds of people would gather thousands of years ago, and cheer everytime somebody would die in atrocious conditions. And we where
there. That's probably the best thing I like about historical buildings, thinking that years and years ago, people were actually stepping on the same ground as you, living a completely different life.
In the afternoon we first explored the Palatino and then the massive Roman Forum. Loved it! Like I always say, that's my kind of shit. That's one of the reasons why I really enjoyed Rome, it's all the history everywhere you go. Truly amazing. It was very hot (and sometimes we were actually almost running to reach the next piece of shade), but we enjoyed every bit of it.
Unfortunately by the end of the day, I realised that the small rash I started to get around both my ankles had gone way bigger and started to properly hurt me :(
On Friday, my rash was so bad that we only managed to visit Castel Sant'Angelo, close to the Vatican City. Even with this heat, I decided that the best I could do is wear jeans to make sure the sun wouldn't make it worse. By the end of the day though, my feet were three times their size and I realised I needed more than just a cream! Thankfully, the local pharmacy gave me some strong antihistamine tablets and I was much better everyday after that. Phew!
Other than that, as lovers of everything castle, we really enjoyed discovering this fortress that once was just a small mausoleum. There's even an elevated walkway that has been constructed especially for the pope to escape from the Vatican in troubled times! The views from the top were breathtaking, and even if I was walking like an injured little granny, it was the best relaxing sightseeing we did and was definitely worth it!
On Saturday, with my feet starting to get better, we headed off to Centro Storico early in the morning and got to the Pantheon only a few minutes after its opening. It was so nice to be able to discover this incredible building without crowds of people! I absolutely loved the area as well... All these small charming streets! It was a pleasure to walk around and stop here and there to take a couple of photos.
After a massive lunch, we took our time and walked down to Piazza Navona. You can tell it was created with a sense of grandeur as even the fountains were majestic. We ventured into the basilica in the heart of the main building and even though we couldn't go very far because some kind of christening was happening, I couldn't leave before snapping a photo of the ceiling. I mean,
come on!
We finished the day with the Crypta Balbi that revealed the many historical layers of Rome. It started as a Roman theatre and then people built houses on top of it in the Middle Age. After that, more houses were built on top in Renaissance time, elevating the floor level quite a bit, which completely hid the Roman ruins. It was great to go under the museum to discover all the vestiges from thousands of years ago. Jason actually enjoyed it more than me!
As the weather was starting to get stormy, we headed back home and made sure to stop by a really nice restaurant to treat ourselves :)
Part 3 coming soon!
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