Rome: Day 3

On Friday we started the day off with another tour. (Every second of this trip has pretty much been meticulously planned out by my mom, Lou. So we have quite a few tours) This time we saw all of Ancient Rome. It was amazing. I really didn't realize how old some of these buildings and sculptures are. I think the oldest one I heard was built around 700 B.C.

First we went to the Colosseum. I can't believe practically the entire structure is still standing after all these centuries. 

Also a side note- making a reservation made the biggest difference in the world! In the time it would take to stand in line and purchase a ticket we toured around the entire Colosseum.

My ticket in!

The outside of the Colosseum. The top two levels of arches were all filled with massive statues and the bottom ones were used as entrances into the chariot races and shows. 

This picture gives an idea of what the Colosseum looked like filled with people. My dad made a point that it looked like they were just "tailgating". But Claudia laughed and corrected him by saying that she did not think that people died at football tailgates.

So many tourists

Whoever was the king at the time would sit around this cross with the rest of the family.

From the Colosseum we walked over to the rest of the ancient ruins.

The outside of a temple dedicated to Cesar 

Old marble floor

The is "The Keyhole." If you look through you can see a secret garden that only a few select people are allowed in to.

This is what you see when you look through. So pretty!

Although we were so tired from walking around in the super hot sun all day, Claudia insisted on visiting a garden looking over the entire city. And since we could go into the "secret" garden, we settled to see this one.

Gorgeous view! Maybe Christmas card potential? Over this trip Lou is determined to take a picture of all of us that would meet her high expectations.