So today we went where the gladiators liked to play. The Colloseum. It’s colossal, yup. We walked there from our hotel after breakfast (same as yesterday but we had a different better cheese today and I put it on my gluten free biscuits that I still have with some ham and jam. Love. I have most of my voice back but now we are pretty sure the bites on my legs, all six of them, are spider bites, not mosquito bites. Exciting.
Well we did the walk to the colosseum and I displayed my great navigating prowess. No big deal. No wrong turns and the most efficient route. We got there 15 minutes after it opened so there were no lines. We bought our tickets and a guided tour and were off! We had 45 minutes before the tour so we walked around and took pictures. It’s really quite incredible, even if a lot of it is gone š the tour was useful though and I think it helped us try to picture what went on there a little better.
We walked around about three times or so and then went to the Palatine hill and archaeological site /ruins. The ruins were actually really beautiful and extremely expansive but it actually became overwhelming. After about four hours at the colloseum and palatine we really felt like we were just going through the motions and not able to really appreciate what we were in the presence of.
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| Trying to get your money to take a picture |
We went to the casa de Augustus and looked at the frescos which are pretty amazing to still exist in any sense at all after all this time. We headed to a church that also had ruins but we weren’t actually allowed in ( not just us, visitors in general) so we headed back. It was beyond hot today and we were exhausted and getting less and less happy and appreciative by the moment so we knew we needed water ASAP. We walked past the coloseum and quickly found a supermarket thank god and bought liters of water. Then we went for a gelato search. We thought we wouldn’t find any which is weird since gelato is every other store and we almost gave up and there it was! I got vanilla with chocolate chips and cherry and Lilly got spaniole and watermelon. It’s amazing how fast we cheered up. We were even giggling in a matter of minutes and what once seemed like a daunting walk back to the hotel now seemed quite easy
And it was easy, we got back just as easily as when we left. We even stopped at a church for our viewing pleasure. Back at the hotel we recouped a bit from the obnoxious heat and searched places to eat. I found a recommended coffee place and restaurant both down by the Pantheon and so we decided to head down. Restaurants don’t open till 7 So we did some browsing which became shopping which finished all of our gifts for everyone! We went to this awesome coffee shop, Sant Eustachio il cafe and got the gran cafe poco zucchino which means light sugar which is what the website told me to order.
Excellent choice. It was super yummy and we plan to go back tomorrow for a different drink. Then we walked some more and headed to the restaurant. It wasn’t open but the worker bee was outside so we asked if they had senza glutino. He said no and seemed annoyed so we said forget them and walked on. We didn’t want to eat right in the piazza of the pantheon because that’s where they trap you and you spend too much money so we went down a side street and asked all the waiters at the first three or four restaurants if they had any senza glutino pasta or pizza. One didn’t, one had pasta but the dishes didnt sound great and then the last one we went to had gluten free pizza!! I was very excited a out this and so we immediately said yes. We ordered our usual .5 l of house red wine and water and Lilly got pasta la amerita so something that had tomatoes and pancetta and Parmesan. And I had pizza with eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and cheese. It was very good. Light thin crust and fresh tasty vegetables, Lilly said she wouldn’t know the difference with or without gluten. We sat there for about thirty minutes after our meal just relaxing and listening to the Italian street music. Then we decided it was time for dessert.
Earlier before dinner we found a gelato place with like 40different gelati and 10 different mousse. Before dinner we shared a creme baileys mousse (small) which was light and refreshing and this time we ordered our own. I had champagne and strawberry and Lilly had champagne and raspberries. It was wonderful, we both agreed it was one of the best gelatos we have had in Italy. It was so fresh and light because they weren’t creme based and it was the perfect t dessert combination. We walked back towards the hotel just appreciating life and even made a quick stop at the Trevi Fountain since it was night time. It’s very pretty at night and almost takes a different feel to it but I honestly like it better at day when I can appreciate every little detail to it’s fullest. We stopped at a liquor store and they gave us samples of anything we wanted to try. We sampled limoncello, strawberries and creme liquor, pistachio creme liquor, and melon creme liquor. We bought several small ones as gifts and I bought a small grappa for us to share and try since it is everywhere. Then the supermarket for water and back to the hotel before 10pm. Very good.
We tried the grappa. Good thing we had the chocolate bar for a chaser because between the two of us we didn’t even finish the 1.3oz bottle. Ew ew ew. It was horrible! Idk if it was cheap or just how it is but I never want grappa again. Give me wine please, thank you.
Next stop, Vatican City.
Xoxo