My Europe Trip 2010 – Rome, Italy

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Being the center of Christianity’s largest denomination, Rome has many interesting churches and home to some of the most beautiful ones in the world. It is advisable to spend at least three nights to visit the Ancient City, where many impressive Roman monuments are still standing.
Summer would be the best time to see Rome, when the temperature is at an average 25°C and the weather is calmer too. But that is also during the tourism peak season so plan your trip early, especially the accommodation part.

Colosseum-facade

The Colosseum was the first attraction on our list of places to visit and luckily going there was simple and straightforward enough. There are only two main metro lines – A or B, much less compared to London’s 11. The Colosseum’s facade was impressive already, as seen from the Colosseo metro station.
If you have imagined it to look like what is shown in the Gladiator movie you are so gonna be disappointed. But it has another side of beauty to be appreciated.

colosseum-rome

The Colosseum is a hollowed-out marble structure, completed back in 80AD where animals were killed for sport and men were pitted against each other. It was a surreal feeling getting to see the Colosseum in real, it was our most memorable experience in Rome.


Rome-Colosseum

If you are staying in Rome for more than 3 days it is highly recommended to get the Roma Pass (€25). The major benefits of the Roma Pass would be the free use of the city’s public transport network, as well as granting the holder free visits to museum and archaelogical sites.

colosseum-entrance

Since the combined ticket of Colosseum with Palatine Hill is already €11 about half the cost of the Roma Pass, it’s only a sensible thing to get the pass. Plus, pass holders get to enter the Colosseum via a special turnstile ignoring the waiting line altogether.

entering-colosseum

We used the Roma Pass and didn’t have to queue at the turnstile.

colosseum-interior

During the course of centuries the Colosseum interior has undergone numerous damages that made the complex structure hardly recognizable today. The interior you see today is overgrown with plants and trees.

Colosseum-Centre

This was where the wild animals, hoists and trapdoors were released directly into the arena using ramps and stairways. Kinda hard to imagine but there are visual guides around the arena detailing the designs and explaining their mechanisms.

Colosseum

You can view the interior and surroundings of the Colosseum either at the upper or ground level. We didn’t know this at first, so a thorough exploration is needed here.

gladiator-armors

The armors and weapons used by the gladiators were on display too. Apparently the gladiators were categorized into different classes based on the style of their equipments. For example the popular Samnite would fight with the equipment styled of a Samnium warrior, using a short sword and a rectangular shield. Other gladiator types include the Gaul and the Thracian.

Machine-Model

A replica model of the trapdoors showing how the wild animals were released into the arena without the gladiators’ knowledge, objective was to spring surprise attacks.

Colosseum-surrounding

The roads surrounding the Colosseum are paved with cobblestones. They are quite dangerous to walk on due to the huge gap and pose danger to small kids who run around. I saw a few kids who fell on these rough stones and cried, must be painful!

Arch-of-Constantine-&-Colos

Walking on the cobblestone road leads you to the Arch of Constatine, a 21m high triumphal arch heavily decorated with parts of older monuments. Like Milan, there are a number of friendship bracelet scammers here as well so beware of them.

palatine-hill

Palatine-Hill-Rome

Rome-Palatine-Hill

I mentioned before the Roma Pass could be used for the combined ticket for the entrance to the Colosseum and another attraction. The latter is the Palatine Hill situated just beside the Colosseum, where it is said to be the home to the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus, the mythical brothers and founders of Rome. But to get there, first you need to go pass through the Roman Forum.

palatine-hill-pavilions

A pair of twin pavilions sitting beside the botanical gardens at the Palatine Hill. You can have a prime view of the Roman Forum from here.

oranges

There are plenty of orange trees up here with blooming with fruits shaped like Mandarin oranges. Too bad they were not edible, as these trees brought in from Spain meant to be used as ornamental plants.

roman forum view

roman forum

The Roman Forum as seen from the top of Palatine Hill.

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15 COMMENTS

  1. I’ve been reading your website since last year and I love it! Nice pictures, good food, good review and detailed information. Keep up the very good work~ Love the black and white picture you took :-)

  2. I went to Rome before as my honeymoon trip, but my photo doesn’t look good like yours. Your photos really impressive, like the photos I saw in travel magazine, professional enough. Good job!

  3. Hi Keong,

    I have been following your blog for quite sometime. Just stop by to say thank you. Rome is one of my target destination yet i still dont have chance to go there. Reading your blog is inspire me to work harder, so I will be there next year.

    Thank you again

  4. Your tour to Europe is great with such good, professional and sharp photos. If you don’t mind telling us, which brand / model of camera you use?
    Vatican City is in one of my dream travel list currently. Thanks for your information. Really appreciated.

  5. hi there.. i just wanted to check if you covered all the places in 1 trip or you had a few trips? if so, im interested..

  6. Hi Vkeong

    My family of 5 planning to go to London on 09.12.2011. Can u suggest cheap accomodation with good location (near to tourists spots/free shuttle station) or perhaps the M’sian Hall ? How did u make booking as I could not locate this from the internet? Only meant for students? How much they charged u?

    Many thanks

  7. May I know which hostel you stayed at in rome and what’s the main mode of transport for you to visit all the attractions? Did you also visit different parts of italy? Thanks for a great blog on rome…

  8. Great combination of photos and letters – I was in Room many moons ago and I have to say that I kind of miss the city. Back then I was a student, now I have to visit the city with the kids : P

    Katy

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