Energetic education in Rome

Not since my Latin classes in Highschool have I had such an information overload regarding Rome. I also learned a lot about the Vatican, which really just re-enforced my pre-existing biases. In particular I learned that much of the metal in the Vatican was plundered from Ancient roman buildings, essentially destroying much of what existed back then, including the Colosseum. I took more photos than is sensible on this three hour Vatican tour! I have to say that I was impressed with the tech they used. I know I haven’t taken a tour in ages, but they basically had group-based walkie-talkies to make sure that everyone can hear the guide. Pretty brilliant!

The receiver via which I could hear the guide

After the tour, I started my walk over to the Colosseum for the afternoon tour. I grabbed some lunch at a local backstreet cafe, which was unfortunately disappointing but had a chilli plant as table decoration. Without planing to, I walked past Hadrians temple, the Altare della Patria and the Imperial Fora on my way.

I had another three hour walking tour in front of me, this one being almost entirely outside. It’s been a 38 degree day outside, so I wasn’t well thrilled to have to wait in this line, in the bright sun, to be assigned a tour guide!

WHY IN THE SUN???

But Romes water stations were a true blessing for me on this day, I just kept refilling my bottle. We visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine hill with a very informative guide.

As the tour concluded the tour guide provided a recommendation for “Romes best pizza – in roman thin-crust style, which I’d visit in the evening. Before heading there, though, I still wanted to visit the Spanish steps and Trevi fountain, making the most of my day walking through Rome.