Monday: Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain

At  6 am, we woke up with no jet lag - refreshed and ready to explore. One look out of the window revealed that it was a rainy day! Ugh! We had breakfast of paninis, cereal, yogurt, coffee and juice, relaxed a bit, showered, dressed, put on our walking shoes with gel inserts and money belt (bra stash for me), grabbed our umbrellas and water bottles and headed to the metro! 

Today was the day of our Colosseum underground and 3^rd level tour so I was praying that the rain would not ruin it. When we got to the metro, we bought 3 day tickets for 11 euros and headed in the direction of Termini with a change to the other line so we could head to Colosseum. The metro rides were fine...a bit cramped tho. I wasn’t worried about the pickpockets because we had our money belt and bra stash...and the backpack the boyf was carrying was locked...

Ok.....here’s where I freak out... OHHHHHHHHHH...MYYYYYYYYYYYY...GOSHHHHHHH! I had no idea that the Colosseum would be so “in your face” when we exited the Metro station. It was an emotional / pathetic (lol) moment for me and I felt like I really arrived in Rome! Since our guided tour wasn’t scheduled for another 3 and a half hours, the plan was to go to the Forum and Palatine Hill before making our way back to the Colosseum. I had a feeling that we should go to the Colosseum first to pick up our tickets that had been ordered online....but i ignored it and headed to the Forum.  We crossed the road and kept right admiring everything while sheltering from the rain. At some point we saw the Forum on our left but could not figure out how to enter it....though I had my tips with me from Trip Advisor.  I left the map at the B&B (lol) and it didn’t occur to me at that moment that there was a map in my Rick Steves guidebook. I could see people down below exploring it and I felt quite jealous  - the boyf and I had clearly missed the sign. Many people passed us but were unable to provide directions. We killed time by taking pictures from our vantage point and finally headed back in the direction of the Colosseum when we had had enough of that. Then we saw it!  A little turn off that indicated the entrance of the Forum! Great! I took out my ticket receipt so I could get our combo tickets...but...because we had booked the guided tour, we were told we had to go to the pick up desk at the Colosseum to collect the tickets. Ugh. So we went to the Colosseum picked up the tickets and the stickers for the guided tour and  instructions on where to meet when we returned. We then headed back to the forum, used the bathrooms, played our Rick Steves audio guides on our mobile phones and explored the area, taking pics at will.  It was very cool outside as it was morning time (though the sun was fierce a few times) and we enjoyed walking around, sipping our cold fountain water and learning about this remarkable place.  We took a break and sat on some rocks and a few mins later, a tour group settled on the rocks behind us...so we paused Rick Steves and  listened to what the guide was saying for about 10 minutes.  We had decided earlier that we would skip the Palatine Hill so we left the Forum at 12:20 pm  to meet our tour guide and group at the Colosseum. As we were leaving, tonnessssssssss of people were arriving! We really did the best thing by seeing the Forum first thing in the morning!

The tour started at the arena level, went underground and then to the third floor. It wasn't strenuous at all...but steps were steep. Our tour guide's name was Barbara and she was good. We met a kool couple from the US. The husband had been to Barbados before and loves it. The tour was a little less than 2 hours and it was great! I tried to take myself back to ancient times and imagine what it was like. The massive structure of the place was intimidating and I couldn’t help but wonder if Spartacus had stood near where I stood on the arena level. Lol.

Our feet were on fire by the end of the tour and we both agreed that foot massages must be the order of the evening when we returned home! We caught the 187 (or was it the 87?) bus from the Colosseum to the Panthoen area. We used Rick Steves from the square outside the Pantheon and when we entered it was full...but not super crowded. The Pantheon is much larger than I thought it would be and I was amazed at its design and of course the oculus!  We left the Pantheon after thirty minutes or so and made our way to the Trevi fountain. We threw our coins in the fountain (in the manner our B&B guy instructed) and hoped we had secured our return to Rome.

I knew a McDonalds was nearby so I got directions from the “Trevi fountain police” (lol).  Do not judge me! I love McDonalds and there is none in Barbados so leave me alone! The boyf and I had Big Mac meals and it felt pretty good to relax and rest our legs for a bit. After we ate, we popped into a Blue Ice shop a few doors down for some gelato. My boyf had black cherry and caramel (2 euros for 2 scoops) and I had pineapple and frutti di bosco  (cup, don’t recall cost). The boyf enjoyed his gelato. Mine was ok....but not as yummy as Old Bridge. Bits of fruit kept getting stuck in my teeth and annoyed me so I soon grew tired of eating it. After about twenty minutes of deciding what we should do next, we took the 492 bus from the Pantheon area back to the B&B as I'd remembered seeing a 492 near our B&B the night before...

We stopped by the phone store our B&B guy had suggested so I could purchase a SIM card and a data plan for my smartphone. The cost was 12.50 euro and I was attached to the TIM network. After we left there, we picked up some juice and soda from a nearby store and used the ATM to make withdrawals.  It was at this point that I realised the B&B owner's umbrella was missing. I had bought one for our trip before I left Barbados and figured we could share it but when the B&B owner offered us one, we took it for extra protection since it was so rainy. 

We got back to the B&B around about 7 pm with sore, tired feet! We decided to skip dinner at Alla Rampa near Spanish Steps and go across the road again to Da Vito E Dina We ate around 9 pm. The boyf had ravioli and it was amazing...and I had rigatoni with bacon and cheese. The boyf’s dish was delicious...but my pasta was crunchy and took al dente to a  whole new level! I was disappointed and didn’t even feel like sending it back. We didn’t order dessert...in stead we decided we would eat chocolate and cookies back at the B&B. When we got back we found a note from the owner just saying hi and hoping we had a good first full day in Rome.