The big fan in my room kept me awake for most of the night, but I eventually got some sleep, and so I awoke early-ish, ready for one of the biggest walking days of the entire trip. Rome has a lot of history to see, and I have just two days to see it in. Better get moving fast.
The hostel offered a fitness breakfast of muesli, fruit and yoghurt, plus orange juice, that got me on the right foot. I then just needed a short walk to the nearest Metro stop to begin my quest. I was prepared to keep an eye out for pickpockets and the like, as I heard that Rome is probably the worst place on Earth for that kind of thing.
I got off at Colosseo, or the Colisseum, as you see here. It's so big that this was the best photo I could get at that distance.
That's a little better.
And here's the less busy side of it.
A glimpse inside. I didn't pay for any museums or visits today, the whole city's a complete ripoff for that. They figure that because it's so old, they can charge way too much and people will pay. At least in Scandinavia I had a card that encouraged me to see lots of museums.
Arco di Constantino.
Looking into the huge area of ruins.
I think that's the Arco di Tito.
Ruins.
You can still get a decent view, without paying.
This path leads through the ruins, but you generally can't see much.
Little church along that path.
Not sure about these things...
...bugger, dead end. I don't like retracing steps: I generally don't like doing stuff twice, especially stuff that takes effort.
Still, got a lovely view on the way back.
And that's a better shot overall, isn't it?
One for the brochure, there.
This rather disappointing patch is where the Circus Maximus once stood.
You'd need a good imagination to visualise the chariots from Ben-Hur running around this.
Santa Anastasia, a church of course.
Another church, Greek Orthodox this one. San Teodoro, if I'm not mistaken.
More ruins.
I tell you what, someone needs to give Rome some tax money, this place is falling to pieces. (Somebody must've done that joke before)
A peek through the trees at the ruins that I refused to pay for.
Who needs to pay? They look fine here.
Dunno.
The other side.
Theatre of Marcellus. Looks a bit like a mini Colosseum.
Something in the distance... you'll see it closer soon.
Move out of the way, love. Never mind. I went up Capitoline Hill, not that I knew it WAS Capitoline Hill, I was a bit lost, really.
Don't ask me who the guy is.
Looking out on the Forum again.
And down onto the road. The left-hand flag is the Roman one, in case you didn't know. Same colours as AC Roma.
You can get a pretty good view up there.
Like I said, don't bother paying to go into the Forum when you can see it from here.
As you see it. Didn't go in, naturally.
I did, however, go up one of Rome's more recent attractions: the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. Only completed in the 1930s, it's quite a thing to see. And go up.
The classical style, obviously well preserved.
And those are bloody big flags.
Trajan's Column.
And the area next to it.
Trajan's Forum/Market.
It may be recent, but still looks stunning.
No idea what building this is, though. Nice hat, fella.
Church of the Gesù. Quite nice.
Largo di Torre Argentina. Apparently the spot where Julius Caesar was killed is here. Somewhere.
Nothing can come between the Italians and their espresso, so Ferrero have been kind enough to invent this. Tastes pretty good, actually.
The River Tiber. That's right, isn't it?
I was trying to find the Palazzo Spada. I missed it. Took this instead.
But why not, eh?
The road leading to the Piazza Farnese is quiet.
The sign said "Acqua non potabile". I'm not bloody surprised, he looks like he's being sick.
Ah, the Piazza Farnese, a charming little square, home to the Palazzo Farnese.
Campo de' Fiori, which has a little market, as you can see.
The Palazzo della Cancelleria, once an important building, right now has a museum of Da Vinci's machines. Nah.
This is a statue. But you know that.
The big Piazza Navona.
Um... forgotten.
And lo, the Pantheon.
Tons and tons of people inside taking photos. It's apparently a religious building, but I don't think these guys care.
Ooh, dome.
And an altar, I think.
The arse end isn't so pretty.
Yet another church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
The Pantheon in the background.
God damn it, it's frustrating when I can't remember what these buildings are...
I believe this is in the Piazza Colonna. But I'm probably wrong.
Well, this is definitely the column in the middle of it.
A rather awkward shot of the Palazzo Montecitorio.
A better one.
Looking through the Piazza Colonna.
Looking down Largo Chigi.
As far as I can tell, this is the other side of the Palazzo Montecitorio.
I don't have this place written anywhere, so don't know. It's near the disappointing Mausoleum of Augustus (disappointing because you can't go inside, and you can't see much from the outside).
Lots of water falling near the Ara Pacis.
This, the Piazza del Popolo, was meant to be my final destination, but it was only 3pm when I got here, so I figured I had some good travelling in me yet.
Hmm... I think this is one of the things surrounding the Piazza del Popolo.
Woah, another big column.
It's a pretty big square.
What's this, I see? A flag of St George? Not another Anglican church on my trip? But yes it was. Couldn't go in, though, dammit.
The Spanish Steps. Pretty sure the Italians don't call them that.
Big staircase.
With a cracking view at the top. Next stop on my tour of big staircases: Odessa.
Time to walk home at last.
Quick stop at the Piazza Barberini...
...to admire the fountain.
Speaking of fountains, here's one of the Quattro Fontane (four fountains, idiot).
More churches.
Finally, the Piazza della Repubblica. Whew. The hostel is a short walk from here.I got back, relaxed, rested the massive blister on my foot... On the advice of some of the others in my room, I went along on a pub crawl. An upfront fee resulted in free drinks for an hour (if you could reach the bar) then free shots at a couple of other places, plus entry to a nightclub. I guess in Rome that's a pretty good deal, but I had almost no money left by that point, so once the free booze stopped flowing I couldn't afford another drink. I'm not normally keen on these nightclub situations, especially when I'm not with anyone I know. I just ended up missing my girlfriend a lot more.
Never mind. I'm up and awake now for the next day, when the Vatican is on the menu. Not sure if I can be bothered to pay to get in there, though: standing with 200 people looking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel doesn't sound like much fun. I mean, in an art gallery you can get really close to the paintings, but the ceiling? It's hardly worth it. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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