The Colosseum

Jan 23, 2011  –  ⁠,

Continuing the previous two entries about my trip to Rome here follows what we saw on the third day.

After leaving the hotel we took the subway in the direction of the Colosseum. It’s interesting how artistic Roman youth is. It wasn’t just the colorful subway but also the uncountable walls full of graffiti that we found. Fortunately there is either too much security near temples and important monuments or maybe it’s just that even rebellious street painters respect them.

One of the two subway lines that traverse Rome.
One of the two subway lines that traverse Rome.

When we arrived to the Colosseum there was a very long queue to buy tickets and a 5min queue to enter if you had already bought the tickets. This queue, however, pales in comparison with other queues that we saw later at the Vatican City. Recommendation to anyone travelling and planning to visit touristic locations: buy your tickets in advance, preferably online. That way you won’t lose precious trip time waiting.

The Colosseum looked relatively big from the outside but, because of the trees and the nearby buildings, it definitely didn’t feel the same as when you go inside. Although time has taken a toll on it the views were impressive. For the curious who might not be aware of it: most of the Colosseum building blocks disappeared not because of erosion and wind but because of the Roman tradition of taking stones and other materials from older buildings to build newer buildings, especially if the newer buildings are Christian and the old buildings were designed for less religious purposes.

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Near the Colosseum there were other interesting areas like the following:

An outside view of the Colosseum.
An outside view of the Colosseum.

Ancient times cartoons decorating the Roman Triumphal Arc that stands a few steps away from the Colosseum.
Ancient times cartoons decorating the Roman Triumphal Arc that stands a few steps away from the Colosseum.

The Roman Triumphal Arc mentioned above.
The Roman Triumphal Arc mentioned above.

Within short walking distance from that area there was a rich family house on the top of a hill from the times when women only wore light white dresses. From many places on top of that hill you could definitely forget that you were in the middle of Rome. All we could see were palm trees against a deep blue sky.

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After leaving the ancient monuments we walked by the Tiber which looked fantastically with the golden colors of autumn.

The Tiber on its way through Rome (photo courtesy of Loes).
The Tiber on its way through Rome (photo courtesy of Loes).

And so our third day in Rome came to an end.