After arriving in Rome in the rain last night, we walked to our hotel, Hotel Lirico, which was 10 minutes but the rain did stop. The hotel is next door to the Rome Opera but we did not go. Instead we left our luggage and walked around until we found a menu that looked like food we recognized. After reading the menu we were surprised to find the restaurant was down a narrow staircase.

Even though the waiter told us Tuesdays were fish days we opted to try something more Italian. Rick chose the fettuccine with beef and artichoke hearts and Karen picked the ravioli with spinach and cheese, plus we both had huge salads and water. The waiter could not believe we did not want any of the wine. Most restaurants here and in Paris have way more wine and beverage listings than food.

Wednesday morning we awoke to beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures. This is the first day on our European excursion that we have not worn sweaters and coats.

Our first tour in Rome was a guided tour in English of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palantine Hill. Once again we were given ear phones and a recorder to listen to our guide as we followed her.

Before entering the Colosseum with the other 8,000 folks, our guide told us it is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built and took only 8 years to build. It is in the center of the city and was chosen in a flat area between three of Rome’s 7 hills. It is just under 2,000 years old.

Our guide emphasized that the structure was built from limestone, which was found in Italy and could hold about 80,000 people to see the gladiator contests as well as animal hunts, executions and dramas. The emperor had his own seat and even his own entrance, called the Imperial Entrance. Others allowed to sit on the lowest level with the emperor were the senators and other important officials, and their wives were allowed to sit with them.

The next levels up were the middle class folks and then at the very top were all the other women since they were not thought to be important enough to sit any lower. The events took place on a stage in the middle with elevators bringing the gladiators or animals up to the stage. She told us 95 percent of the gladiators were slaves and the crowds loved watching them fight.

At some point during the gladiators fights the emperor would decide if the gladiator was to be killed or not. He would let the people watching decide by either lifting their fists in the air if he was to be allowed to survive or a slicing gesture over the throat if not. Most were not killed but taken across the street where there was a barracks for the gladiators to live with a hospital. Most died from infections from the fights.

The Colosseum has been damaged over the years by fires, earthquakes and by people robbing the arches of valuables built into them. Many believe the Colosseum was where Christians were martyred for their faith, but scholars now say they were executed at another site.

The Colosseum is an example of arches which the guide told us make the large size possible and it does not look as bulky as that massive a building could. There are four levels and the bottom three have 80 arches each. Much of the structure has fallen but work is being done on it as we were touring.

After the Colosseum with walked around Palantine Hill which is the center most of the 7 hills and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It is associated with mythological figures Romulus and Remus. It was the place where imperial palaces were built but are now in ruins.

The last stop was to show us what remains of the Roman Forum. Today we could see where the rectangular forum or plaza once stood and where several ancient government buildings were. This was the center of day to day life for Romans to hear speeches, watch processionals and see criminal trials.

Julius Caesar, a politician but never emperor, and perhaps one of the best known ancient Romans, was assassinated in 44 BC while holding a senate meeting at Theater of Pompey but was cremated and “buried” in the southeastern corner of the Roman Forum and a temple was built on the site, which is no longer standing.

It was a long tour of about two and one half hours and it got really hot. The tour ended at 12:30 and we walked back to the hotel and both took showers in the tiny shower. Then we were hungry and decided to eat some pizza. Rick chose it and it was ham, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, mushrooms and cheese.

After lunch we decided we wanted to see a few other well known sites, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Couldn’t have been anyone left in Rome because they were all exactly where we were trying to be. The Spanish Steps are 135 steps leading from a plaza to a church at the top. After climbing steps all morning on our tour, we chose a photo and that was it.

The Trevi Fountain is an 18th century fountain in the Trevi district of Rome and is the largest Baroque fountain in the city. The fountain is located at the intersection of three roads and where one of the ancient aqueducts supplied water to Rome. An aqueduct still carries water to the fountain. Today the fountain is surrounded by barriers but people were still throwing coins into the fountain. The saying is if you throw a coin in you will be sure to return. We did not.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped for some gelato. It is like ice cream but it has different amounts of milk, cream and sugar and stored at a higher temperature which makes it smoother. Whatever, it was delicious and perfect for a hot evening. Rick had a milk chocolate and Karen chose coconut.

Traffic in Rome is as bad as London and Paris. There are as many motor scooters as there are people and if the “roads” are made for 2 lanes of traffic, it is now used by at least one area where cars are parked, another area where 2 cars are trying to move, motor scooters zipping in and out plus all the pedestrians.

With temperatures in Rome today in the mid-70s, the gelato ice cream hit the spot. There seems to be more restaurants and gelato shops in Rome than anything else. There must be three or four in every block. In the second photo, we’re standing inside the colosseum where we toured for more than two hours. And, the last photo is of the Spanish steps. We’d climbed enough steps at the colosseum and decided to just take a photo. After the Spanish steps, we had a 20 minute walk “slightly uphill” back to our hotel. Today we walked 6.61 miles.