Today we ventured back into Ancient Roman times. We commenced our time travel at the Colloseum. We had no idea how this Roman Monument would impact us. Commissioned by Emperor Vespasian in AD 72, and completed by his son Titus in AD 80, it held 55,000 spectators who were seated across 4 levels based on rank in society. The site on which it was built was the old site of Nero's palace. As Society now despised Nero so much the Emperor wanted to distance himself from the tyrant. Daily combats were held between gladiators, as well as between Bestiarius and exotic animals from all over the empire (note that Gladiators never fought animals only each other). During the games a thumb up from the crowd meant the fight would go on to death, a thumb horizontal meant that the crowd would like the throat to be slashed, and a thumbs down meant that they should be spared. We were both awe-struck by the structure. After a thorough look at the Colloseum we headed to Palantino Hill, where we saw the ancient ruins of Rome which included the Arco Di Constantino and the remains of some of the ruins of Nero's Imperial Palace.

It is fair to say that we were pleased with the "skip the line" tour we booked, however the waiting in line may have been quicker than the 3.5 hour tour that went for 5 hours, without the tour guide actually taking a breathe from talking! A long 5 hours of constant walking we were ready to go back to the hotel and spend a few quiet hours poolside. For dinner we chose a street-side table at a small restaurant in Via Nazionale around the corner from our hotel, from which we enjoyed a little wine and watched Rome pass us by.