Hello Ancient Rome. We rolled the dice and bought a combo-ticket at the entrance to Palatine Hill and entered with no line. We turned left and pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was amazing to spend time amongst what were once emperor palaces. As we round the 2nd corner, we start seeing other visitors and then finally floods of people as the large walking tours engulfed the place.
Sidebar/vent: by now, I’m tired of the large walking tours. They are such a menace because a sudden heavy concentration of zombie-like humanoids take over an area serving as slow moving blockades. And they are everywhere clogging up the already busy walkways. The only thing they are good for is a traffic barrier when needing to cross busy streets.
After Palatine Hill, Tom suggests I do some shopping. I say: let’s try the Colosseum. It looks daunting and what’s different this time of day is the onslaught of people providing “information” and “help.” These were the people Rick Steve’s warned you about – working on fear of long lines. We practically walked right in with our combo ticket. It was a large place filled with other people doing the only thing you can really do in there: take selfies.
Regrettably we didn’t go to the Roman Forum (I know, I know). Instead we head to Ostia Antica, a ruined ancient port that rivals Pompei. It was a great afternoon exploring that site.
Our last night in Rome involved a slow stroll through the well crowded streets. This time, we didn’t mind the crowds. Walking to Piazza Navena to see other fountains and night time lights, we walk through myriads of street vendors and street performers. It was just a pleasant lively night that we finished with gelato and people watching in front of Trevi Fountain. Spoiler alert: word in the street is that the fountain will be filled with water tomorrow night.
