Europe Trip - Day 9 - Rome, Italy

Next up on the itinerary was the magnificent city of Rome. Rome is the capital of Italy. We reached Rome's Termini Station around noon. We picked up our pre-booked Roma passes. Roma pass can be used to visit 2 monument sites and also you can use any mode of transportation for 2 days. Our hotel was located very close to the Termini station so we dropped off our bags and headed out to explore the city.

Train to Rome

First stop was the topmost attraction in Rome - The Colosseum. Colosseum is a huge amphitheatre which is located centrally in Rome and was built around 80 AD. It was used for entertainment and hosting fights between gladiators and wild animals. The Colosseum was a huge structure that depicted the grandeur and richness of ancient Rome. We spent few hours here reading the history and exploring the place. A big part of the structure has been destroyed due to fire, earthquakes and plundering. However the structure as is looks grand and you can feel the glory.

Magnificent colosseum

Inside the colosseum

Another view of the colosseum

We also captured a short video here. Check it out.

Very close by here is Roman Forum. The Roman Forum has the ruins of several ancient political structures from ancient Rome.

Standing near the ruins of the ancient buildings

Next we walked through the streets of Rome enjoying the wonderful city views. Rome is filled with ancient structures, buildings and beautiful piazzas. We kept on walking till we reached the Spanish steps. Spanish steps is a huge piazza/square which has a set of lot of steps. It was full of tourists and locals. The area was bubbling with crowds and lots of energy even late in the night. We settled down on the steps and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Spanish steps in the night

Then we walked to another famous tourist attraction The Pantheon. The Pantheon building is a temple of all ancient gods of Rome. We kept dragging our aching feet around the magnificent city and finally headed back to the hotel after having yet another wonderful Italian dinner.

Pantheon building in the background

Ready for dinner

On the way back we ate awesome gelato at 'Gilattori' which is supposed to be the best gelataria in Rome and we discovered it through Rick Steve's book. Loved the coconut flavored gelato.

Rome impressed us and so far was my favorite city in the trip.

Check out more pics here.