My First Kitsch: Rome Day II

Rome, Italy

As you can probably tell, we saw the Colosseum. Interestingly enough, it's not called that cause it's colossal, but because there was a colossal statue of Nero nearby. Not that it's not colossal - look at that thing. 

I asked Yannick what to write about this picture, and he said "We bought a horrible bottle opener not far from here." The thing about Rome (and any other even semi-large city in Italy) is that there are swarms of street vendors selling everything from frozen water to fedoras and parasols to knockoff handbags to blobs of goo they throw at the ground that go squeak. We had bought some San Pelegrino soft drink without realising they required a bottle opener. In a moment of opportunism, I spied a colosseum-themed bottle opener (that doubles as a fridge magnet) at a stall of a vendor. Even while we paid him I kept my eyes averted lest he chase after me hawking his wares. 

The San Pelegrino, by the way, was delicious. 

From inside. There were hardly any of the original seats left, but they would have been in those slanted bits on the sides. You can also see the passages under where the stage would go (the wood of it long gone). 

There was this sweet carving above one of the doors. You hardly ever see carvings depicting gladiators, which makes this one so interesting. 

We got lunch at a place that was kind of like a bakery but also made pizza, sold by weight. We tried the pizza bianca and the pizza rossa with cheese. Our lunch cost €3.20 that day, the cheapest yet. The gelato cost more though. We sat on a Roman doorstep to eat, as there were no tables, watching passersby. 

Palentine Hill was right across the street. Yannick gained a newfound respect for Septimus Severus, who made it, and I quote, "more badass than it already was". 

We didn't get pictures of it though. Before we realised it, we were already in the Roman Forum. There was a lot of stuff going on, as you can tell from the photograph above. 

For some reason, we both really liked this set of three columns. 

I never know how to end posts so I'll end it with three. Three Roman posts. 

Marcus Aurelius!: Rome Day III