Coliseum!

Yesterday we left Greece behind to continue our adventures in Italy. I must admit that I wasn't sad to leave. Overall, Athens was lovely. I was very sad when field school was over, but I am officially "Greece'd" out - ready for a change. Greek food gets kind of old after 6 weeks, and pasta and pizza and gelato are calling me!

Bye, Greece!

We arrived on time, caught the first train to Termini Rome station, and made our way up to our hotel, which is less than 2 blocks from the Coliseum.

After a shower and a snooze, we walked around to try to situate ourselves. Rome is difficult to navigate - I miss grid systems! We saw the Trevi fountain, and then wandered over to the Piazza Navone for dinner. They had the cathedral lit up and were playing opera, and so we nabbed a dinner table right next to the fountain so we could watch the show. Amazing.

Trevi Fountain!

After dinner we walked over to the Spanish steps, and then home.

This morning we toured the Coliseum, which was stunning. We joined a paid tour since lines were huge, and we ended up getting a wonderful and very knowledgeable guide. We spent nearly two hours in the building which was originally known as Amphitheater Flavius. Then we walked to Palatine hill and saw the ruins of Domitian's palace. We also got a chance to view the Roman Forum from the balcony on top of the hill.

Right before heading in...Yay!

Bucket list Item #2: Complete.

After that we decided a gelato break was in order, so we nabbed a bowl each (I got tiramisu, he got Pistachio) and then came back here for a nap because it is so darn hot today!

After a brief nap, we headed off to St. Peter's square and walked around the cathedral to see the biggest dome in the world. Talk about giant - you could almost get lost in there!

The square outside

That's a big dome...

Happy in Rome!

Afterwards we took a walk and ended up eating at a tiny pizza place with fabulous food. Then we headed back to Trevi fountain (my favorite, other than the Coliseum and Palatine hill) and then the Spanish Steps (Fern's favorite), and then home.

Bridge we walked over

Tomorrow we are headed off to Pompeii and Naples... should be fun!