Rome Day 5: Forum and Colosseum

On our last day in Rome, we headed towards the Forum and Colosseum. We caught a bus not far from our place and rode it to the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (also known as the Wedding Cake or Giant Typewriter, apparently). Joey walked this way to his conference but this part of Rome was new to the boys and me.

As we walked to the Colosseum, we passed the Forum and stopped to compare pictures from how it used to look to how it looks today (Thanks for recommending the great book, Amy!)

We happened to be in Rome on the first Sunday of the month which is also a free day at the Colosseum. It worked out in our schedule for this to be the day we visited but we were a little worried about the crowds.

Joseph really looked forward to seeing the Colosseum and was so excited to finally be there in person. Once we got there, the line to get in wrapped around the outside of the structure and didn't seem to move much during our time there. It was starting to look like the Colosseum wasn't going to happen.

Joseph was so disappointed. We tried to walk around and look inside and talk about how great it was to just see it even if we couldn't go in. He was so disappointed that he didn't even want to get in our picture with the gladiators.

James and the gladiators

family minus Joseph

We told Joseph that we could wait in the line but we just didn't know how long it would take. It was close to lunch time, 83 degrees, and blazing sun without a cloud in the sky. We tried to convince him that we just weren't sure that he and James could make it. He wanted to try so we found our spot in a VERY long line. We tried to block the sun from the boys as we turned down offers to buy umbrellas and iced water as we waited.

We had heard from a friend (thanks Chris!) that you can stand in a shorter line to buy a ticket for the Forum that will let you bypass the long line at the Colosseum. It wasn't really clear what was happening with the lines and various groups of people and we weren't sure if the Forum ticket would work the same way on the free day. Joey and I both were praying that the line would somehow move quickly, really hoping to be able to let Joseph do this one thing he had really looked forward to. While you wait, tour guides offer to sell you an hour tour for €15 and let you skip the line. People kept peeling off either giving up or willing to spend the money. One of the tour guides that had passed us a few times stopped us and said he was going to give us a tip because we had kids. He told us the info about the Forum ticket. A little hesitant (you start to feel like everyone is trying to scam you), we sent Joey to get those tickets while the boys and I held our spot in the line.

He came back and we made our way to the herd of people that we had seen pushing their way in earlier. We never could quite figure out what was happening but that group of people already had tickets and were getting in so much quicker than the LONG line.  We were so relieved and so grateful that God answered that prayer and provided for us and especially for Joseph who so looked forward to being inside.

happy boy

cross erected in memory of the Christian martyrs that died in the Colosseum

After our satisfactory trip to the Colosseum, we found a small place to grab some lunch. Then, we headed to Basilica of San Clemente. It was such a beautiful, intricate Church with so much history lying below (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Clemente). No pictures inside so we just enjoyed walking around before the boys needed to head out. We promised some gelato after our excursion to another Church and they were happy to partake. 

the two flights of (steep) stairs that we had to take up to our place each day 

After we rested from all of our walking, we headed into Trastavere for one last time for a little shopping and dinner.

the path to our restaurant, Il Duca

more yummy pasta

And, with that, our trip came to an end. We had such a wonderful time visiting Rome and were so thankful that we were able to make the trip even with our little health scare. It was a holiday that we have fond memories of and we still long to be back there enjoying the good food and strolling the beautiful streets of Rome. With all the things we saw, there is still so much to see. We can't wait to go again and even though we didn't throw coins in the Trevi Fountain (it was under construction) we are hopeful that we will all make our way back to Rome one day.

waiting for our flight to Edinburgh from the International terminal in Rome Ciampino