Italy: The celebrations and adventures commence in Rome

Italy:
The celebrations and adventures commence in Rome

 Our quirky apartment in the old part of Rome.

Fontana Di Trevi Home - Bastianelli Home. 

A bit of a rainy start to the day.

Trish, Squizz & Annie headed out for a morning coffee while I stayed home and managed the communication network for the travel buddies!

 Check out their coloured rain coats!

! This was our apartment......interesting old door with a tricky key around a panel in the door.

Rome has a current population of 4 million.

A huge day visiting some of the main tourist attractions around the city - learning / recalling what we knew about the Ancient Roman Empire. We headed firstly to the Plazuzaz Del Popolo.....only to find we really wanted to be at the top looking over the Plaza. We browsed around then made our way back to the lookout over the plaza.

 

Next we wandered down the road (reading the tourist map) heading towards the famous Spanish Steps (Trinita Del Monti)........we arrived fairly quickly only to discover they were under rennovation...So no walking down the famous steps to the fountain at the bottom. Annie was a tad disappointed as she was looking forward to this - have to say I was Ok with just viewing from the top! 

 

We continued on towards the Trevi Fountain......only to realise Trish and Squizz had been held up by a local selling them roses and taking their picture.

 

Annie and I were sure they saw us down the road and waited....but then they headed down some stairs.....we quickly headed back after them and had them back on the right road! Must admit Annie and I were reading the map differently and soon realised I was taking us to another fountain - not the main one we wanted to see.

Thank goodness Annie had us back on track and soon we arrived (along with thousands of others at the famous Trevi Fountain. The legend says that anyone who drinks from the Fountain or throws a coin in the fountain is assure to return to Rome.....we covered our bases and all threw in a coin.

 

We found a cafe for lunch then headed back for a small rest period as most people do in Italy in the afternoon - no siesta today but time to sit and relax before we headed back out. Also a chance to reconnect through our social media and catch up on news from home in Australia.

For the children at Alawa - guess what I found......hundreds of pigeons......am sure they are related to the ones my Dad had in the backyard at home and all greeted me warmly - after all I was not carrying the stick I used to use to make them fly and train for their races! More stories to share about the pigeons when I get back to school afterwards the holidays.

Check out one of the local fruit stands and the funky lights - looking like ice cream cones.

 

So mid afternoon off we went again.....this time we took up the challenge and caught the local bus to the Colosseum. This immense ampi-theatre was begun in 72 AD and Jewish prisoners were employed in the construction which took about 8 years.  It could contain more than 50 000 spectators.

We signed up for the audio / video guide and pre booked online but still had to wait for ages in a queue to get in. More security checkpoints as we entered with about 3000 other people.....they must have about 20 000 people visit each day.  We spent about 2 hours there roaming around, listening to the audio guide and wondering about the past and they way people lived in the Ancient Roman times. The Italian Government are spending considerable funds tuning to restore he Colosseum and to ensure it remains open as a tourist attraction and a significant part of the Roman history which can be shared.

 

 

After a brief rest stop we met up with a friend of Annie's from her days in New Caledonia. Emma and her husband and two children are currently living in Rome, it was great to hear about life in Rome from people who have relocated from Perth.

Our night concluded with a visit to the Forum light and sound show....not sure what to expect with the show starting at 10pm at night we make our way and soon had headphones on and a special infrared light which we had to point at special points along the way to trigger the audio story.  Although we were weary we certainly enjoyed the experience and learnt heaps moe about Julius Ceasar and his time as the ruler of Rome. The Forum itself cost over 1million gold coins - equivalent to 300 000 Euros....it has been destroyed and then houses built which have now been knocked down as they have tried to restore elements of the forum. No sharing or gossip about the travel buddies who nodded off a little during the show. 

 

 

We caught a taxi home and were soon sleeping deeply!

Challenges for the day:

1. How to pay your fare on the local bus......not able to pay cash and we did not have a travel card so just hopped on  off and hoped the Rome Transport Authority would forgive us.

Solutions for the day:

1. After being challenged by the lights in our apartment - (not able to turn them off when we went to bed the night before) Annie and Squizz saved the day when they realised you pushed the actual dimmer button in and this turned them off.....no need for blindfolds to sleep tonight..

Quote of the day: 

Trish wanting Squizz to move her head so she could take a photo through the 'window' view. 

Annie stating 'You could get off your chair!'

Rating for BB Home Rome: 7