The ancient Romans built arches of triumph where the soldiers and the generals would pass as entry into the major cities when they had a triumphant battle. The Arch of Constantine I is the largest in the world and is situated beside the Colosseum.
We had a booking for the Colosseum, at 11.20am. What we discovered the previous day was that you couldn’t simply line up and collect the entry ticket the day before. So, yesterday we had lined up for 20 minutes to receive that news.Â
Today, we decided to get going very early and head down to the Colosseum ticket office to collect our tickets right when the office opened at 8.30am. We were served very quickly and obtained our ticket.Â
But our entry was at 11.20am so we had to amuse ourselves in that time. During that time we took some laundry to a laundry service, had breakfast and explored the area around the Colosseum, watching the crowds grow in size.Â
Then at around 10.45am we decided to go into the line. So far so good.
Except a storm came by and it was absolutely freezing for these two Queenslanders. The whole time exploring the Colosseum (or the Flavian Amphitheatre as it is also known, we learnt), we were shivering. Despite having many layers, the wind and the rain cut through us.
Given the bad weather, we opted to see the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill ruins the following day as our ticket was good for this.
When It Is Cold Outside: Eat Lasagne
We found an award-winning cafe a couple of doors down from our hotel. There Chris had his first Lasagne in Italy and Chantal had a vegetarian pizza. Both were amazing but the cappuccinos were extremely good.
After lunch we went for a walk and decided to have a look at yet another church.Â
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore was incredible. Again, artwork everywhere – appearing to be from the 13th century through to the early 17th. There was no dog on the ceiling of this one, though.
For such a huge structure, we thought we visited at a time of mass because it was so quiet. Turns out this is another difference between Roma and Napoli, in Roma only whispers can be heard whereas in Napoli loud Italian conversations were frequently heard in the Neapolitan churches we visited.
Dinner and Another Stroll
As evidenced by Chantal’s social media post, we had by far the best pasta to date at Pasta Chef, not far from our hotel. Chris had a Fetuccini Alfredo and Chantal a vegetarian Lasagna (it was a veggie kind of day, alright?).
Both were incredible and despite the huge portions, both of us ate our dishes completely.
The interesting thing about Pasta Chef is that it wasn’t a restaurant. It is a takeaway place which provides biodegradable plates and cutlery, and some seating. But the reviews are really good (4.4 star on Google maps which is the best by far we have found), and the food and service match this high score.
After dinner we went for a walk around, discovering the Foro Traiano and Foro di Augusto were only really nearby.Â
Heading back, we stopped into Pasta Chef again and grabbed a tiramisu. Chris isn’t a fan of tiramisu back in Australia but he certainly enjoyed this Italian one.
Chris and Chantal 