Rome, Italy

Rome may not have been built in one day, but it can definitely can be seen in one.

Let me give you a photographic recap of day 1, from around 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

First stop: the Colosseum:

 Left Side                                                       Right Side

 And our awkard picture in the middle. Colleseum: Check

This was another monument where we skipped out on the tour, and we were told that was WAY the wrong way to go. We had no idea about any of the history other than what we'd learned at home, which made this place look like an old pile of rocks. So if we ever go back, we'll definitely do the tour. 

But the thing I was most disappointed about were the lack of cats. Since I was little my grandma and anyone else who had ever been the Colosseum, had said there were cats everywhere. There was not one cat in sight. After a while of searching fruitlessly for a furry creature, I finally asked one of the tour guides. He said a couple of years ago the cats had been eradicated because they were becoming pests to the city. Poor cats. 

 A picture from outside the Colosseum. I'm leaning out of the side of one of the holes in the walls.

Next stop: Pantheon

 You can literally walk in here and out again. Take a picture from the outside, one from the inside, and then leave. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful building and represents a lot to Rome, but by this point in our trip we had heard a lot of history, and frankly didn't care much for this one.

Saw this on our way to the Trevi fountain:

And here's the fountain:

 

The Trevi fountain was my favorite tourist attraction in Rome, which is saying something. It's a little hard to find, stuck in a back alley, but follow all of the tourist signs and you'll get there eventually. Yes it was crowded, and you have to fight through everyone to get to the front, but honestly, it looked like the cleanest place in the city, and it was refreshing to be near some water on such a hot day. 

Around the corner from the Trevi Fountain are the Spanish Steps. We weren't too excited to see these; We had met a couple in Florence a couple of days before who had just left Rome, who had seen a young boy get hit by a speeding car right in front of the steps. We took this picture and left on the metro station that's right in the square.

After we got on the Metro station, it was about 2:00 when we arrived back to our hotel room. So we had covered the Colosseum, The Roman Ruins, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps in about 5-6 hours. So yes, Rome can be seen in one day. We went home and got some much needed sleep after being on the road for almost 2 weeks. And went out to dinner next to the Colosseum later that night:

After dinner we got Gelato and ate in front of the Colosseum, while it was lit up at night. This was my favorite part of Rome:

And end of Day 1 in Rome.