Here are pictures from Day 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157603646787206/
Today was our day to see really old stuff from ancient Rome. It was a beautiful, sunny day which was perfect for walking around outside. We started out by heading to the Colosseum, which was quite impressive. We got the audio tour, which I think was pretty worthwhile. They pointed out things that we wouldn't have noticed and told stories about how the Colosseum was used.
We were really hungry, so we abandoned the pretense of trying to find a non-touristy place and just went in the first place that looked good. We both got pizza for the first time on this trip, and it was quite tasty. It took us quite a while to get our bill, so to kill time we were looking around and spotted a piece of paper that was posted above each table (see photos), that appeared to be describing some kind of game. Do any of you Italian speakers out there know what they're talking about? I think it means that if you get your bill to work out to be the specific highlighted amount, the 'game' is free, whatever that means. It seems like that would be a relatively simple task.
After eating, we headed to the Forum, which is right near the Colosseum. This area has lots of great ruins of what used to be the center of Rome. We saw the remains of the Basilica of Constantine, which was quite impressive. Check the photos to see Kellian next to the ruins to get a sense of the scale.
Other interesting sights included the Temple of Julius Caesar, which was surprisingly small, and the House of the Vestal Virgins. We were hoping to see Palatine Hill, but were running out of time and decided to head on to see the Pantheon before it got too dark, since it was closed last night. The Pantheon was quite amazing: it is a huge dome with an open top. The floor is slanted to allow the rainwater to drain out. Another interesting fact: the artist Raphael is buried there.
After an exciting day of looking at old stuff, we decided to hit up a gelato place. I was quite surprised that we made it for this long without having any. We went to Giolitti, which is one of the more well known gelato joints in the city and we could see why.
Tomorrow, we will look at the National Museum of Rome.
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