When in Rome... (Part 2)

St. Peter's Square at night.

Cheese and egg soup - unusual but surprisingly yummy.

Day 2 - Colosseum and Palatine Hill

We took the metro from Ottaviano to Colosseo, involved a changeover at the main Termini station.  It was easy and straightforward.  The interior of the metro looked exactly like Singapore's MRT.  The metro ticket was a flat fee of 1.50 euros per person per trip.  There were some steps involved, though, so Kevin had to carry the stroller up and down.

We ran into some new friends who said they did a guided tour of the Colosseum, so we decided to do the same.  The Colosseum isn't very big and the guided tour made it a lot more interesting.  The guide had an extensive knowledge and spent a good chunk of the tour telling us things about the Colosseum.

Cross-legging at the Colosseum.

View of Palatine Hill from the Colosseum.

After a brief break for lunch, we headed over to Palantine Hill where another guide took over.  He was again very knowledgeable and made the ruins come alive.  Otherwise, we would be just looking at clumps of stones without appreciating their significance.

On both tours, we brought the stroller along.  There were steps involved but not excessively high, so it was ok to carry the stroller up.  The fact that Lucas could walk helped a lot as Kevin didn't have to carry the stroller and him together.  We did get a lot of offers to help from the other members of the group so it was nice.

What was originally a chariot track at the Palatine Hill.

A once-opulent Roman villa.

Exiting Palatine Hill on very bumpy cobblestones.

We then took the metro to the Trevi Fountain.

Everyone wanted a piece of the Trevi action.

It was quite a majestic sight.

The Pantheon at dusk.

Another dramatic fountain, this time at Piazza Navona.

Day 3 - Villa Borghese and Spanish Steps

Our B&B owners told us at breakfast that there was going to be a demonstration in town and advised us to avoid certain places.  They suggested we visit Villa Borghese so we set out after breakfast.  It was about half an hour walk.

Pasar malam on Rome's shopping streets!

Lunch break on the way to Villa Borghese.

Piazza del Popolo near Villa Borghese.

Strolling up to the gardens.

More steps..

Beautiful sunset from Villa Borghese, on the way down to the Spanish Steps.

Masses of people hanging out at the Spanish Steps.

Pompi - the only reason why you should visit the Spanish Steps!
Best tiramisu in Rome, in convenient take away boxes.

We were fascinated by the presence of these stalls on the streets of Rome, so we took another photo.   This one was in front of a respectable looking Trussardi outlet.