When in Rome...

...you see lots of old (but cool) things. ;)

Yesterday started off to a trip to the church of Santa Maria to go put our hands in the mouth of La Bocca della Verità (aka The Mouth of Truth). Legend has it that if you've ever told a lie and put your hand in the mouth, then your hand will get bitten off. But in reality, this was most likely a manhole cover or part of a fountain at some point. Either way, I think it's one of the coolest things ever, and it's probably because it's the very first story I remember my Dad telling me about Rome.

Unfortunately when we got there, the line was extremely long again (*major ugly cry face*). It probably would've been 45 minutes before we would be able to get up to take a picture with it. Fortunately though, you can see the work through the gate while in line. We figured we can do without the typical hand-in-mouth photo, and instead took a photo from where we were standing. I'm pretty bummed, but I'm just adding it to the list of reasons why we need to come back. =)

Next up...the Colosseum! We took a short bus ride over there to go marvel at this amazing structure. The line to get in was very long, but luckily our ticket for the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill was also a combo ticket for the Colosseum. So, we only had to wait in the security line for 10 minutes. This place was incredible, and we're so happy we were able to go see it. There's so many fun and interesting facts about the Colosseum, but here's a few that struck out to us:

1. Admission was free (back when it really was a full-functioning colosseum, not today)

2. The colosseum held 50,000 people

3. The games had all sorts of events that included exotic animals (barbarians fell under this category too), female gladiators, handicapped people, and of course, gladiators

4. The colosseum was originally covered

View of the Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum

Afterwards, we hopped on the bus to go visit the Pantheon. Up until yesterday, we've only been able to appreciate the building's exterior, and yesterday early afternoon was the perfect time to go inside. 

Entrance

Our tour guide =)

Raphael's Tomb

Statue that Raphael made that is right above his tomb

Tomb of Umberto I and Margherita

Tomb of Victor Emmanuel II

After the Pantheon visit, we rested at our apartment for a bit. At around 5, we went back out for our evening festivities. To start, we had a few drinks and snacks at Campo de' Fiori. Ahhhh....!

Then, we took a stroll across the Ponte Sant’Angelo to admire the Castel Sant’Angolo. We walked through a summer market that circled around the perimeter of the castle.

By 9, it was time for dinner. We enjoyed some gnocchi/lasagna at a restaurant near Piazza Navona. Afterwards, we walked over to the piazza to admire all the artists’ work and watch them sketch portraits/caricatures of other tourists. And of course, no day would be complete without a tasty gelato. Which, by the way, we’re on an 8-day streak. Winning!

Playing Stairway to Heaven