The day started early so that we could get out to Trevi before crowds. We were all up at and ready by 6:30 except for maybe Kelle who instigated the whole thing but she rallied and we headed out to learn the metro. The station wasn’t too far from the apartment and we bought 24 hour tickets (which was a life saver later on) and boarded the train to Trevi.

We weren’t the first people there but we were still before the major crowds. They don’t start the tickets until 9 so we could be on any level. Kelle, Jed and I threw in coins for luck and our return to Italy but most people were just taking photos. There were several girls there do Instagram stories and I bet they took 200 photos. we all snapped ours and headed on.

From Trevi we headed over to see the Spanish Steps. Sadly they did not have any flowers on them and they were just a staircase. My first trip the area was bustling with shops and bars but it was pretty quiet now. Even the tea shop didn’t open until 10.

We didn’t see anywhere for everyone to get coffee so we jumped back on the metro and went back to the Trevi stop where we had passed several. The first one we stopped at was having trouble with their espresso machine so we went back to one we had passed. It was a bit disorganized but we did eventually get almost everything we ordered. Jeff never got his coffee and Clark’s was wrong but it worked out okay and we headed out to see the coliseum.

We had tried to buy tickets online but could never get it to work on the official site. Thankfully we didn’t buy from a tour group because we saw several people trying to find their tour group so that they could get in. However we did buy from a tour operator when we exited the metro. We paid 30€ for the tour and then they were going to take us to a private line so we didn’t have to wait in the extremely long line to buy the entrance tickets. We were going to get our entrance tickets have a tour of the forum and then go in the collision our own. Turns out the secret line was equally as long. Maybe not as long but we waited around an hour. Our timed entry to the Coliseum was 3 it was 11:30. They kept telling us not to pay attention to the time and the person who sold us the tickets said that they would get us in as a group when we were done with tour portion. All lies.

It was so hot our guide wasn’t good. We had to Sina ladies with us so he spent a lot of hi time just talking to them. He was born in Japan but was mainly Italian. He made several comments about how bad America is. Even though I am not hung ho America it was frustrating to hear someone else say it and even worse someone who took money from Americans to give an English tour. We should have just waited in the line and got the time entrance and then left and come back. Live and learn.

The tour guide was bad, he didn’t even give good information about the Forum and it was hard to hear even though we had headphones. He mumbled into his mic most of the time. We were all hot and tired and Margaret was mad and really fussed about the Coliseum entrance time. We hadn’t eaten enough there was no water or shade. Faye started feeling bad and needed to leave and get food so she and Bob were leaving and Margaret and Clark decided to leave to. They ended up ubering back to the apartment to get out of the crowd and were too frustrated to want to come back for the Coliseum. When we walked out of the Forum over the sea of people we could see the new metro stop so Kelle, Jeff and I decided to hop back on the metro ride it a few stops out to find lunch,shade and drinks. Turns out that was the best decision we made all day. We picked a stop by the name Pignetto, which we hoped was like where the apartment is and most offices and locals but turned out to be most residential. However we found a great spot. Ate outside in the shade with a great breeze. The food was delicious the wine was cold and our day turned around. We each tried different basic pastas. I had the Cacio e Pepe, Kelle had the carbonara and Jeff tried the Gricia. They were all delicious and some of the best food I have tasted so far.

After our lovely lunch we got back on the metro rode back our few stops and walked right into the Coliseum. Once you have your timed entrance you just show up 15 minutes before your time and get in. We walked up at 3:05 no line and walked straight in.

The Coliseum was amazing. It is more impressive now than the first time I saw it. I don’t know if I am older and have more respect for what went into building it or better understanding of the history that happened here but I really enjoyed this visit. They did have a small exhibit that had a lot of artifacts and gave background info that was nice to see. But the fact that we could touch, and sit on columns from 2000 years ago is crazy. Ended up being a great day.

After the coliseum we headed up to the church to see the Moses statute. It wasn’t far and had great views back over the Coliseum.

The church was small but Michelangelo’s Moses was impressive and I am glad we made the effort.

If you noticed that Moses has horns – he does. Seems At some point before the 1500 Moses was mythologized and given horns. I am surprised the church did not have them removed. It seems somewhat sacrilegious to have Moses the bearer of the 10 Commandments have goat horns. Regardless the statue is really good. Not as dramatic as Davis but still worth seeing.

The little church also held chains they claim were used on Peter. You had to pay to get the screen to open to view them but someone did and it stayed open for quite a while and we were all able to see them.

we stopped for a drink in our way back to the apartment and I had my first Negroni of the trip. I am not a big fan but the bartender had misunderstood so I drank it anyway. It was not bad so I had another. The second was a lot stronger so I am going to stay with the spritz.

Dinner was back to the local place we had the day we got there and the pizza again was good.

A little bit of a hiccup but in the end it was a good day.