our agenda for Saturday was pretty straightforward -- we wanted to see the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, as they were included in our Colosseum tickets but the tickets were only valid for 1 day after our Colosseum visit. however, the first order of business was to get groceries (we had a delicious, if unconventional, breakfast of pizza and lunch meat as the fridge was getting dangerously bare).
at the recommendation of the former musician's wife who lived here, i wanted to check out Todi's (a discount grocery store similar to Aldi), about a mile and a half walk down into the Trastevere neighborhood. there's a bus that runs right past the college and gets you very near the grocery store in less than 10 minutes, but of course they were having mechanical problems and no other buses cover that route. so Nick took Greta to the gym while I popped Cece into the Ergo carrier and off we went. it was a beautiful day for a walk and Cecilia and i passed a water bottle back and forth to stay hydrated (i purposely didn't check the temperature but i'm guessing it was about 90 degrees).
i just love the little streets of Trastevere. i could sit and study each one for hours. there's little traffic, but every once in a while a motorcycle or taxi will zip by and nearly take you out, so you have to be on guard!
the Todi's sits just off of a pretty little piazza with a beautiful enclosed play area. i'm planning to bring the girls back here sometime soon (when the buses are running!). i got the shopping done with some substitutions -- they have a much smaller selection than Carrefour and instead of the beef brisket, pork loin, and flank steak i had planned to purchase, i had to improvise and get some ground beef, pork chops, and some other kind of steak. the prices are much more comparable to what i'm used to paying at Aldi, and i realized some of my sticker shock at Carrefour was just because the prices are similar to the Giant Eagle Market District. Cece was oohed and aahed over by some sweet little ladies in the produce section (who asked if i was Australian, and then their second guess was British... maybe my Italian has an Australian accent?!). anyway, it was only €50 for a small cart's worth of groceries and i'll just have to get back over to Carrefour for the things they didn't have.
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| the doors to this museum were standing wide open to the street ... we'll have to come back sometime! |
shortly after we got home, thunderstorms started back up again, so we puttered around and i researched bus options to get over to the Forum area. around 5:30 the skies were clearing and we headed down to the bus stop on the main road at the bottom of our hill. there's a vending machine there that sells cigarettes (if you have an Italian ID card) and bus tickets, but only in multiples of 6. we put in our money, and a small red cardboard box dropped to the bottom of the machine. it said something on it about tobacco, and i thought maybe i pushed the wrong button or the machine malfunctioned. but Nick opened up the box and there indeed were 6 bus tickets inside! we boarded our bus and validated our tickets by inserting them into the little yellow machine at the rear of the bus (i thought it might be complicated, but it's really not). this stamps the ticket with the date and time, as it's valid for 100 minutes of riding time (with unlimited transfers within that time frame). we then had to transfer to another bus, which was quite crowded, but the other people on the bus were very kind and helped get the collapsed stroller up out of the way.
we disembarked at the Foro Imperiali stop and had a short walk down to the Forum. we were cutting it close because the last entrance is at 6:15 pm in the summer (the Forum closes at 7:15 pm). we made it to the entrance at 6:10 pm and immediately began taking it all in.
first of all, the Forum area is huge. it encompasses multiple ancient temples, the main square, and the massive Basilica of Constantine. since we only had an hour, we moved through fairly quickly, and probably saw only a quarter of the sites. we will definitely be back!
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| walking the ancient Via Sacra |
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| Temple of Romulus, with original bronze doors (the lock still works!) |
we didn't have time to get a closer look at the Basilica of Constantine, which was actually a judicial court. the huge arches pictured are actually the smaller side arches -- the original roof of the hall was 130 feet tall (55 feet taller than the arches).
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| Basilica of Constantine (also known as the Basilica Maxentius) |
it was moving to see the Arch of Titus, which was built to commemorate Rome's victory over Israel in A.D. 70, when they destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. somehow, i didn't realize that Jewish slaves were forced to build both this arch as well as the Colosseum.
the important archaeological sites are roped off, but many ancient stones and broken columns line the walkways and you're allowed to sit or walk on them. it's just incredible to see the detail, craftsmanship, and vast scale of the buildings.
we then walked up the Palatine Hill, where the Roman emperors lived. the Palatine Stadium was actually a private garden, built as part of the Flavian Palace.
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| ruins of the Imperial Palace |
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| the Palatine "stadium" |
as closing time approached, multiple electronic bells sounded and all the visitors were ushered to the nearest exit by the staff. we came down the ancient basalt road, Via Sacra, which still has the original stones, towards the Colosseum. thunderclouds in the distance made for dramatic lighting.
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Introvert Shield: Activated
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time for a bite to eat! i did some research on TripAdvisor before we left to find a reasonably priced casual restaurant that wouldn't be too touristy, and La Prezzemolina on via del Colosseo fit the bill! this was our first experience eating pizza al taglia (by the slice). they cut the pizza with scissors to your specifications, then heat it up. Greta and Cece had prosciutto and cheese, while Nick and i opted for montanaro (with various meats and vegetables). both were delicious. the flavors are so fresh and the crust perfectly crisp on the outside with a satisfyingly chewy interior. i'm afraid we're going to be ruined for Pizza Hut by the time we get back.
we originally had planned to take a bus back home, but it was such a beautiful night, we decided to meander along past the Vittorio Emanule monument (commemorating the unification of Italy). we discovered more ruins of the Temple of Minerva, and further up the road we encountered Trajan's Column.
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| Temple of Minerva, built in 97 A.D. |
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| Temple of Minerva |
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| Minerva |
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| Emperor Nerva (who became emperor following Domitian's murder in 96 A.D.) |
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| The Forum of Augustus, built in 2 B.C. |
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| Caesar Augustus (yes, that Caesar Augustus) |
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| Nick and Greta admire Trajan's column, which includes 155 scenes detailing Trajan's military victories. |
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| the Vittorio Emanuele II monument, which is also known as the Altar of Patriotism |
at this point we decided we might as well make a night of it and go to the Piazza Navona for gelato and people-watching. Greta was thrilled to get a fragola (strawberry) slushie, while i had a scoop of tiramisu gelato. the piazza is magical at night, with musicians, street performers, outdoor restaurants, and other people strolling around. the street hawkers also do a brisk business selling various light-up toys -- i think we must have said "no grazie" fifty times while we were there.
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