Rome with Noah, Troy and Momma: The Colosseum of Rome

Our favorite tour company.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016 - This day did not start exactly as planned. The plans had been to have a guided tour of the Roman Colosseum in the morning and then a guided tour of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum in the afternoon. Both of these guided tours were again booked through Grayline and the problem was not with them at all. In fact, they went above and beyond to accommodate us. The weather was great so that was not the reason. Our problem was jet lag. On day three, we all slept late... like really late into the mid-morning. So late, that there was no possible way of making our morning tour of the Colosseum.

Instead, having missed our morning tour, we leisurely took our time getting ready and walking down to the Colosseum to see what our options were. We ate along the way in a tiny restaurant and probably got to the Colosseum early afternoon (yes, jet lag can be rough).

We tried to find an office for GrayLine which proved futile, but there were plenty of GrayLine tour reps walking through the tourist crowds outside of the Colosseum. There was no way, before dark, to do the tour of the Colosseum as well as the tour of Palatine Hill; but they got us in on a Colosseum tour and agreed that we could take our Palatine Hill tour later in the week. It worked out great. Many thanks to the GrayLine people.

The Colosseum is an impressive structure to tour or even to just see from a distance. I could see a lot of the same components of our current stadiums in the United States in the Colosseum even though the Colosseum was built between 72 and 80 AD - wide stairwells, sloped seating, covered seating. Momma had a little panic attack going up the stairs (the Colosseum is very crowded just like any stadium on game day with should-to-shoulder people). We let the tour people continue without us and caught up with them as quickly as we could.

Although crowded with us tourists, we did have a few places along the way were we had more room. That was also because we had taken the last tour of the day and were among the last people to leave as the sun was setting. Go early in the morning or late in the evening. I can't imagine mid-day tours. Those must be absolutely packed with people.

On the way out, we did find the elevator which would have helped Momma a great deal when we started the tour. We should have asked, but did not think about it. We were just following the crowd. Don't be afraid to ask any questions of your tour guides. Every tour guide we had was extremely obliging, kind and responsive. They are there to make your trip as enjoyable and educational and safe as possible.

Sun setting on the Colosseum

I think this is the highest level open to tours.

Wide corridors, covered and uncovered, connect all the seating sections,
vending areas, artifact history sections and entrance/exit points.

After leaving the Colosseum, we walked down Via dei Fori Imperiali and took a right on Largo Corrado Ricci where a row of restaurants lined the sidewalk. We ate one block back at Gustando Roma. It is a nice little Italian pizza place with outdoor seating. After that, we guessed our way through the back streets and alleys to our hotel. Along the way, I drank from one of the Roman drinking fountains that constantly run and have been running since Rome was built. It was in the middle of the street. The water tasted amazing. I don't think I could convince Momma and Troy to try.

Since we had a Grayline bus to catch in the morning and because we had missed our Grayline morning tour of the Colosseum, I wanted us to find where we had to go to catch the bus before we went back to the hotel for the night. The pick-up location was not too far from the hotel. We walked to Piazza della Repubblica which is at the top of Via Nazionale and then took a left to walk on to Piazza di San Bernardo. This was all well after dark and we had to walk past a lot of homeless people who make their homes (at least for the evening) in front of Ordine degli Ingegneri della Provincia di Roma. We never had any problem with anyone; it was just really sad to see so many homeless people huddled under the awnings and it was in stark contrast to the luxury hotel just across the street.

We found our pick-up location and took time for a dessert at a corner cafe (Exquisitaly) of Piazza di S. Bernardo. This piazza has the Fontana del Mose and it was very nice to hear the water from the fountain as we walked around the piazza and then back to our hotel.

Our next morning would start early and have an entire day filled with sight-seeing in Naples and touring Pompeii. We felt better after having slept late this morning and our jet lag had practically disappeared by now. One more good night's sleep and we would be ready.