Rome Day 5: Coloseum, Forum, Piazza Venezia, & Pantheon

Today we took our time waking up and getting ready- very nice! We did some souvenir shopping and browsing before heading over to the Barreto's hotel. They and his parents were taking a train in from Pisa/Florence where they had been the day before. We actually beat them to their hotel (they had taxi issues) but eventually we all met up. Their bed and breakfast was larger than ours so it was nice to hang out for a few minutes in such space! They even had a kitchenette! Tip to travelers: if you're going to spend more than a few days somewhere the kitchenette is worth it! You get tired (and broke) of restaurants and fast food. We walked over to the restaurant that Matt and I had ate at the day before. This time I had a spinach ravioli in a cream and walnut sauce- yum! Matt got a chicken breast, potatoes, and spicy pasta combo- also yummy!!

We took the metro over to the Coloseum and purchased our Roma pass- another good investment! There was no line at the Coloseum shockingly so we walked right on in. In my opinion the Coloseum was pretty neat but not something I'll go back to. It was amazing to touch the walls of something that has been around for over 2000 years. Matt absolutely loved this place though and he took some great pictures. He and Barreto kept looking everywhere in the Coloseum to purchase the toy armor and sword so they could play in the Coloseum. Boys... So fyi if you too want to do this- buy the things before coming in!

After the Coloseum we checked out the Arch of Constantine which is between the Coloseum and the Forum. We went into the Forum and walked about a hundred meters in and looked around snapped a few pictures and decided that we were hot and tired (and there's no shade there) and we still wanted to see the Pantheon. The Pantheon is not located near a Metro and we didn't know the bus system well enough to figure out how to get there. We started to walk over to the Pantheon and on the way we stopped by the Piazza Venezia (the big white building that you always see in movies of Rome). More great pictures and a long not so easy walk later we found the Pantheon. I was too tired to enjoy the Pantheon much so I hung out on the bench with the Barreto's baby while everyone else walked around and took photos. Again I was slightly disappointed..what exactly IS the Pantheon? I'm guessing a church because of the relics and altars inside but my guide book didn't really say.

Next we had to find a bus stop and then a bus that actually went to the stop near the Hard Rock. Each bus that went there was jam packed so much that we couldn't all fit even standing!! FINALLY (45mins) a bus came and we were able to get off at the correct stop this time! Since we had such luck using my preggo belly and getting a table the last time we went to the Hard Rock my friends decided to shove me inside to get the table. Surprisingly it actually worked again!! I was doubtful since they were even busier this time and the host was a woman (hostess) this time. But they gave us a large table right away- absolutely no wait! We were excited about this. We were hot, tired, and now starving. We split the most amazing nachos ($18!! this was not worth it to Barreto's parents but as we explained when you've lived in Europe for nearly a year it was DEFINITELY worth it!!) and then Matt and I each tried a different burger- mine was much better than the time before.

Our day ended taking a train and walking over to the Trevi Fountain to see it all lit up. On the walk there we all stopped and got some Gelato- not as good as the time before though. The Trevi Fountain was very crowded but very beautiful to see. We all threw in our coins while videotaping (well I threw in 2 coins since Matt missed the first one!) Rick Steve's only gave the Trevi Fountain a 2 star at night but in my book it was a 3!! Finally we all made it home at about midnight- phew! A great but busy day :0)