Rome – Day 1

We arrived in Rome late on Thursday night, so we made sure we hit the sack almost immediately after entering our hotel room and made an early start the next day. On Friday morning and parts of the afternoon, we visited the Roman forum, Palatine Hill, Colloseum and other historical buildings and museums in the area. I will only cover my favorites here.

 The Colloseum, an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome, was most fascinating for me. In simple terms, the arena was used as a massive slaughterhouse; hosting gladiatorial contests, executions and the like. I was most suprised to learn that the arena hosted such large numbers of spectators. Imagine 50 000 spectators watching and cheering on as a man battles a cheetah until one of them are killed – so very frightening!

The colloseum

The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the medieval era and was used instead for housing workshops and other purposes.

Colloseum internal

 

During our walk from the Roman Forum to Piazza Navona, I got the scent of roasted chestnuts. I love roasted chestnuts. I love their sweet smell, taste and texture. I could not resist. I bought some the next day as well.

Roasted chesnuts

Piazza Navona was beautiful. There were musicians all around the square. The air was fresh and cool. The Fountain of the four Rivers was beautiful. It was possibly my favourite Piazza in Rome.

Fountain of the four Rivers

I had my best gelato on the same evening in the same area. I indulged in gelato 5 times in my 3 days in Italy. I couldn’t resist. Besides, Italians use healthier (and less) fats and minimal sugar in their gelato. So it is not so bad 🙂 This is the only picture I managed to snap of the-best-gelato-ever. 1 scoop of caramel meringue and 1 scoop of ginger-cinnamon. Hmmm.. Delicious!

My favourite gelato

We also visited the Pantheon on day 1. The sparkly interior; its colours and the tranquility were truly special.

Pantheon

 I hope to write about day 2 in Rome shortly. Have a good day 🙂