I was very proud of Jeff on this trip....he actually kept up with his running schedule while we were in Europe! On Sunday morning, he got up and ran around several famous sites in Rome. Our hotel was about 25 minutes from the Colosseum. It was early in the morning, and he was able to run around the Colosseum several times, and he actually ran on the Circus Maximus. He said it was one of the coolest moments he had on the trip.
We knew we had a lot to see on Sunday so we started out early. The first picture is what you see when you get off at the Colosseum subway stop.....pretty amazing. We took a tour of the Colosseum (finished in A.D. 80), and then headed over to see the Arch of Constantine, the famous arch next to the Colosseum. The Arch of Constantine was erected by the Senate in A.D. 315 to honor Constantine's defeat of the pagan Maxentius.
Across the street from the Colosseum is the entrance to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Palatine Hill is (supposedly) the spot on which the first settlers built their huts, under the direction of Romulus (Rome is named for Romulus). A few steps from Palatine Hill is the Roman Forum. The Forum was built between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, and it flourished as the center of Roman life in the days of the Republic before it gradually lost prestige to the Imperial Forums. While in the Roman Forum, our camera broke (you will have to ask us about this story)!
After purchasing a new digital camera, we continued with our sightseeing tour of Rome. In the afternoon, we visited The Pantheon and the Piazza Navona (famous for its' fountains: Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) and Fountain of the Moor (Fontana del Moro), and the Fountain of Neptune (Fontana di Nettuno). One of my favorite moments from the trip was eating an Italian dinner at a cafe at Piazza Navona.
After dinner, we went back to the Roman Forum and the nearby Imperial Forum to take some pictures at dusk. Our last destination was the Spanish Steps, and we wanted to see the Colosseum at night.
