Rome Italy 2022 Colosseum Tour Adventure Day 2

We went to Rome, Italy as a family on Christmas Day 2022 and came home New Years Day 2023! Follow along on our day-to-day adventures of Rome!

Day 2

Dear Adventure Avenue,

We went down for breakfast at the hotel. They have either a continental breakfast (20 euro) or à la carte. Everyone but my mom ordered something off the menu. I had the veggie omelet that came with toast. The omelets are a bit runny but I don’t mind that as long as there’s toast.

After breakfast we took a cab ride to the tour office where we were meeting them for our tour of the Colosseum with Gladiator access to the arena and the Roman forum and Palatine hill.

The Colosseum

  • The inside of the colosseum is stained black due to car pollution.
  • Roman Graffiti
  • Below the arena
  • A recreation of the lift they would’ve used back in Roman days.

The Roman Forum

  • The view from our Roman Forums tour
  • Roman Forum entrance
  • Inspiration for the Arc de Triumph

The Roman forum and Palatine hill required a bunch of stair climbing. The colosseum did have an elevator. 

I loved how these plants have grown in this fountain
This is an interesting building because the door is no longer accessible. At one point in time, the soil level was all the way up to that door.

Our tour guide was great on our tour! She barely stopped talking as she knew so much about everything.

After our tour, she walked us to a pizzeria that she said is very good and she and her colleagues go to all the time. (Mere and her friend took a taxi back to the hotel). 

  • Too Good to Go is in Rome! This app is a way to combat restaurant food waste by selling it in mystery boxes at the end of the day

It was very busy but we were able to snag a table and enjoy our food. The pizzeria was called La Prezzemolina. We had margarita, caprese, and meat pizza slices. The pizza is sold by the weight. We also tried a rice ball with mozzarella cheese in the minute which was interesting and quite good. 

We then began to walk back to our hotel making two stops. One was at the Farmacie/pharmacy (US equivalent to a rite aid or CVS) and the other: gelato!

  • Gelato!
  • We learned later that it’s authentic gelato if it is not mounded and in circular silver containers

I had coconut and pineapple which was delicious and better than the previous night’s gelato. We got the gelato at Gelateria S. M. Maggiore. 

We also spotted a drinking fountain that is apparently drinkable though I’m not sure if I’d trust it. 

It constantly runs and to drink it, you put your hand over the bottom of it which forces the water out the little hole in the top of the spigot.

We rested back at the hotel and then took a cab to dinner at the restaurant Alfredo, home of the original fettuccine Alfredo! 

Preparing for dinner

The restaurant wasn’t open when we arrived at 6 for our 6:30 reservation, so my mom and I wandered into a cheese, meat, and oil shop where we bought some balsamic and olive oils. It was a very cool place. 

  • Look at the selection!
  • Cheese please

Then it was time for dinner. The highlight for everyone was the rich fettuccine Alfredo which tasted like Parmesan and had soft buttery noodles. As a starter, I had an artichoke, cooked/marinated in olive oil so that it softened into a medley of warm flavors that included garlic, pepper, and mint. 

This was so rich! I definitely should have split with someone.

For dessert, my dad enjoyed a chocolate cream and my mom a limoncello. 

We took a taxi back to the hotel. It was a relatively late night considering the previous night we were in bed before 8!

Sincerely,

A

Day 1

Day 2

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