We have a full day for this 2 days. Today, we are having a self-walking tour starting from Colloseum to the Piazza Navona. As usual, Google Street is my BFF. I made my own map. We started the day by queueing for the Colloseo, thanks to the pre-paid ticket. Colloseo is build in the 70AD as part of the entertainment facilities for the Romans. It is most famous for its utilization as a stage for gladiators – they have a dungeon and underground pathway where they keep the animals for the gladiator’s battle before it was partially destroyed by the earthquake.

The Metro station of Colloseo is very close to the ancient site. There are a lot of gladiators hanging around the area for some paid photography session. We don’t take interest in them. It was a long queue even with the prepaid tickets. But when we get inside, the crowd subsides and we enter pretty much very easily. The area of Colloseum opened for the general public is the 1^st and 2^nd Floor. To access the underground, you need a special pass that can be purchased. We 1^st enter the 1^st floor to go around this great amphitheater. It was huge and below, we can see the structures or part of hypogeum of underground tunnels. Back on its glorious days, the arena and the underground tunnels were separated by a wooden floor.

It is amazing on how people in the ancient world are capable of building a place that can fit thousand of people. They do not have cranes or any other modern technology for this. It is interesting of how the decision on arches, beams, its own configuration affects the stability and durability of the amphitheater.

We did not take an audio guide, but we follow closely some tour groups to listen on some facts about the colloseum. It can be done for tour guide that ‘project’ their voice to the crowd instead of using a radio comm.

Okay, ini satu tips. Kalau nak follow kumpulan tour ni, janganlah obvious sangat pulak. Dalam tu ada banyak tour group. Sambil rehat, boleh la dengar explaination dari tour guide yang ada kat sekeliling kita.

On the 2^nd floor, there is some exhibition about the colloseum – the history, the tools, the methods etc. The view from up here is not bad either. The stairs of the colloseum is high, I mean one step is like the height from my feet to my knee. For me, it is good to read on the place you are going whether before or during the visit. Know the place, the basic history and treat it with awe and respect it deserves not just as an Instagram-worthy piece.

We then exited the Colloseum and passed the Arch of Constantine to go to the Roman Forum. Roman Forum entry is included with your colloseum tickets. Here, you can see the ruins of temples, buildings and basically some proof of civilization around the amphitheater. It is amazing to walk on the same road that existed thousand years ago. From uphill, you can see this is a city, with markets, temples, complex just like a city today.

We planned to stop the tour here and resume after lunch, but we eventually decided to go through everything and then go for lunch. So, I have to improvised without getting lost. This was bearable because the next place is Piazza Venezia, which home of the National Monument that can be seen from the Forum. I read somewhere there is a major road from colloseum to the piazza. Later I found out it was called Via dei Fori Imperiali. Via in Italian means road.

We followed the traffic and we arrived at Piazza Venezia. We went up to take a closer look of the National Monument. Guards was readily guarding the monument and the tomb. Then, we proceed to the walking tour. It is easy because the original plan actually starts at the Piazza.

Here, we will venture on the famous Via del Corso a.k.a the tourist road. This is an ancient main road that connects to all major attractions in Rome. First, we walked to the Pantheon. Along the way, we did find some ancient basilica which I later identified as San Marcello al Corso. An old building smack in the middle of shops.

Before reaching Pantheon, we decided that we will have lunch. So we enter a local tavern near the Pantheon and have lunch. This is our only experience in having pasta in Italy. Price was good, portion was very generous. I accidentally asked CB to ordered Salami – which is beef/pork based – we cannot eat those. You don’t know how sorry I am back then. Sorry CB!

Okay, ini kelakar. Masa order, CB nak sangat makan pizza tapi dia dah bosan makan margharitte pizza. Jadi, Nadia pun dengan selamba, eh makanlah salami. Rasanya salami ni dari salmon. Dia pun order. Sampai2 tengok rupanya salami ni daripada beef/pork. Alamak!!!!! Kesian CB tak makan. Kitorang share pasta dengan dia. Cerita ni, sampai balik Nadia kena bahan – sampai sekarang. Tapi betul OK, salami tu ada buat dari salmon. Haaa.

There were a lot of souvenir shops in the alley, we went in to buy some souvenirs. I bought the magnets and t-shirt for my Dad. We arrived at the Pantheon. There were modern gladiators outside coercing tourist for some photos. Since we have a pizza mishap earlier, CB packed the food and actually gave it out to the gladiators we met. Gladiators were happy and hungry too. We went inside the Pantheon and if you notice, every basilica or building in Rome will have the oculus. Oculus is the hole in the middle of the dome. It certainly give a mystic look added to the place.

Pantheon was a bit crowded and we didn’t spent too much time there. We continue our journey to the Piazza Navona, home of the famous Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers. Okay, I was heavily influenced by the Demons and Angels story. Okay? The fountain depicts four river Gods sculptures with an obelisk.

 Navigating through the streets of Rome is easy and it was pleasant. Piazza Navona is huge. We took photos of the fountain and Pamphili Place which is the Brazillian Embassy. Here, we venture out some food hunt – the famous Trescalini gelato. I have been reading everywhere that suggest this is the best place for gelato. I have been eating gelato since I arrived in Italy and I must say, it taste a bit better with trescalini.

We end our journey here. We walked for 20m and board the public bus to the metro station. I was being warned by several sites not to take the famous tourist bus – don’t remember what number, because it was the center of pickpocket. So, I comply and board a normal Roman day-to-day bus. We arrived at the hotel and rest for the noon.

At the evening, Dila convinces me to go to the Spanish Step for some window shopping. CB choose not to follow so she can rest at the hotel. So, me, Su and Dila ended up having our own little adventure. We have a stroll along the alleys and went in several shops. We even got to watch several street performances. In the end, no one buys anything and we went back to the hotel.