garyandpearl

Halloween is not a big deal here, but Nov 1 is a national holiday. We woke up to rain, torrential rain, and Rome is still cleaning up from the storm on Monday night. 😬 We took a few minutes to see if the rain would let up, but it did not. We headed out anyway, with 4 umbrellas in hand!

Instead of walking to the Colosseum, we took the metro to keep us a bit drier. I wondered if the rain would keep the crowds away, and thousands of others must have thought the same thing as they headed to the same place. After purchasing tickets and clearing security, we explored this colossal structure and listened to our audioguide.

Although this was probably not the site where Christians were killed, a bronze cross was erected here in the 16th century to honour the martyrs.

The area under the circle was the basement level. There would have been wood on these supports and several inches of sand on top.

Thankfully, the rain lessened and we moved on to the Roman Forum. This was basically downtown ancient Rome with all of its temples, legal buildings, and shops. People used to live on top of here and had to move away when they excavated the area.

After working up an appetite, we walked to the Jewish Ghetto to eat lunch at Nonna Betta’s, a Roman Jewish restaurant famous for its deep fried artichokes which happened to be in season.

Nonna (grandma) also made great pasta and a delicious pistachio cake.

We strolled by the Tiber river in our way to see the Pantheon, a church which has been in use since it was built in 27 BC. Unfortunately, because of the holiday, it was closed, and the website did not indicate this. 😟. We were not alone…there were many disappointed people. We sat and listened to our audioguide while perched against a pillar and seeking shelter from the rain.

Tiramisu was enjoyed on the way home, but we were pretty soaked by the time we got to our hotel.

There was drying of clothes, packing, and one more gelato run! Tomorrow we fly home.