On our last day in Rome, we’d initially planned to get up early and hopefully beat the queues at St Peters, but after a busy day and evening we woke up indulgently late, blinking at each other over our morning coffees. Deciding St Peters just wasn’t meant to be, we settled on a relaxed start to our last day, and a trip to our adopted city's most iconic landmark.
Around midday we finally ventured out, and stopped at a pizzeria on the way to the Colosseum to gorge ourselves on some tourist-friendly treats.
Starting with aperol spritz and wine!
Fried mozzarella and salad. As delicious as deep fried cheese always is, but I’d have appreciated a marinara dip to offset some of the cheesiness.
Artichoke bruschetta. Doesn’t look like much, but packs a creamy, salty punch.
Carbonara pizza. One of my absolute favourites.
Pizza with spicy sausage.
Margarita. Felicity is a traditionalist.
Having eaten and drunk our fill we headed on towards the Colosseum.
We did our best Lizzie McGuire along the way, stopping off whenever something caught our fancy.
^a message I can definitely get behind.
We gawped at the size of the typewriter...
...and fell slightly in love with this fountain.
^double trouble.
Eventually we made it to the main event.
After being harassed by more guides than we could count, we decided on the more economical version of giving ourselves the tour.
We queued for a little while, then found ourselves inside the arena.
As huge as a modern stadium, it’s amazing to imagine how many people it would have held in its prime, and the entertainment they would have spectated.
Possibly better than Netflix...
The floor, which would have been wooden on top of the tunnel system that still stands, has now been lost over time. This was a great shame for Flic, who was rather keen on asking the entire arena “are you not entertained?!”
We’ll just have to take her word that she’d have been an excellent gladiator.
From the alcoves of the Colosseum, you have a fantastic view of the Arch of Constantine, which was supposedly built to commemorate ten years of Emperor Constantine's reign.
All too soon the sun was setting behind us, so we headed back out to see the best view of the Colosseum.
In my opinion, the best part of the Colosseum is the part you get to see from the outside, free of charge. Just look:
We headed back to our AirBnB for a quick freshen up, then out for our last supper together.
Following another recommendation from our host, we visited another nearby restaurant, that I sinfully forgot to write down the name of.
Spaghetti amatriciana for Felicity again...an excellent choice, as it was cooked in a Parmesan wheel (as all excellent things are).
Octopus linguine for Olivia...
Mushroom linguine. Looks very beige, but was herby, buttery and didn't skimp on the mushrooms.
Soon we were onto the main event...pudding!
Liv and Felicity’s molten chocolate fondant was pretty envy- inspiring, but my dessert came with a show.
Tiramisu, freshly prepared at your table. Velvety cream with a punchy coffee liqueur.
The perfect end to the holiday. Italy, I tira-miss-u.