Back to Rome - Part II
“Doc… you built a time machine out of an IPA??”
So I know by now… you are probably chomping at the bit for more travel stories.
Well. I am going to make you very happy…
As you could probably tell from the picture you clicked on. We are going back to Rome 2016!
It was a beautiful day…
We woke up early to head to THE ancient fighting pit of yore. The Colosseum. Everyone knows about this place. It's extremely impressive. I mean… for goodness sake they actually sometimes flooded the arena floor and staged mock naval battles! Romans were crazy! And also… brilliant. Standing inside there… you can feel how old this place is. Everywhere is evidence of man’s attempts to stave off the effects of time on this place. A bit of cement here. Odd structural supports there. It's truly stunning. Especially in the morning where the intense summer sun is putting everything into stark contrast.
The Arch of Constantine right outside the Colosseum
One nice thing we learned when we were purchasing tickets for the Colosseum was that you got access to the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill area as well! And can I just say… give yourself PLENTY of time for the Palatine area… it's enormous. We wandered around there for a long time. And mind you… we weren’t bored at all. It's just one fascinating thing after the other. We did hit the Roman Forum after the Palatine Hill area so that we could save the best for last. And we were correct in our assumption.
Just one small part of the Palatine Hill area…
The Roman Forum.
The Heart of the Roman Empire at its heyday. Words really fail here. Impressive doesn’t really cut it either. It's close though. Here’s some pics.
Every shrine… every temple is absolutely gorgeous. What I wouldn’t give to be able to have seen them in their heyday. Oh and more places need to do this… exact drawings and/or renderings from a spectator’s point of view of what the ruins would have looked like back in their day. This one kind of did it… but as I have traveled around the world… other places have done it better. When I went to Valencia, Spain in 2019 - their Archaeological Museum actually had 3D video renders as part of the exhibit. The videos started out with the ruins and then through the wonders of CG… rebuilt what the building would have looked like. All I am saying is… we have the technology.
ANYWHOOO.
After touring the impressive Forum we decided to venture out into the city proper and the Spanish Steps were just the destination!
Too bad a commercial was being filmed there and we couldn’t actually go on them…we did get some lovely views of the city at sunset though.
After a full day of exploring the city… we were ready for some amazing food and drink. We found both at L'Elementare in Trastevere. I had the Patate e Salsiccia Pizza. Mozzarella, potatoes, sausages and rosemary. Divine. It was so good we went back here the night after this. And of course this being a European trip centered around Craft Beer. We headed to the best Craft Beer spot in Rome… Open Baladin. I love this place. They treated us extremely warmly and we had an outstanding time. Great draft selection and an especially good bottle list!
And that was Day 2.
Aaaah Rome…
Arrivederci.
