We decided to go to Rome. I never plan to drive in Rome, except when I return the car. To get there we planned to drive the car to the end of the subway, park there and take the metro into town. The station is about 15-20 minutes drive. The last little bit right before the station is a confusing set of turns. The hotel proprietor printed out a special map for this part. He also mentioned the entrance to the parking garage is tricky to find.
With Yanmei navigating we managed to get there without trouble, but we didn't find the entrance to the parking garage. We could see it behind the station, but all the roads seeming to go there were one way coming out. We pulled into the free outside parking area and by a miracle found a spot as someone was leaving.
The Rome subway is surprisingly undeveloped compared to the other cities we've visited. There is an A and B line and an airport train, and that is it. They are working on a third line but it is 15 years behind schedule so far (was supposed to open in 2000). At least it is easy to find your way around. Paris and Seoul have apps that tell you the best way to get between two stations, because there are usually multiple options.
First stop, the Colosseum.
To go inside you can either line up and pay €12, or you can join a skip-the-line tour group for a higher price which also includes a tour guide. We joined a group and it cost €30 each, but was well worth it not to wait in a long line. It was a hot day. The guide was basically useless, providing very little information I didn't know. The one useful bit was that she said all the parts made from brick were restorations from the 1800s, only the large stone blocks are original. Unfortunately the majority is restoration. The Colosseum was used as a quarry for about 1000 years after they stopped holding games, meaning they dismantled it to use the stone in other buildings. Unfortunately it is a common theme.
After the tour we had some free time to look around, before a second tour of the Palatine hill (included with our €30). Luckily the second guide was much better. Palatine hill is where the palace of the emperors was. It was five stories tall, but each story was over 60 feet, so the scope of it was massive. Unfortunately it is mostly buried or gone. We walked for a long way on what the guide said was the third level. It must have dwarfed the scope of places like Versailles.
We ended the tour overlooking a spectacular view of the Roman Forum.
We walked down and looked around the Forum for a while.
After a while the sun and heat started to get to us so we trudged back to the Metro and headed back to our hotel.
– David
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