Day 6 - Christmas Eve Part Two

Inside the Colosseum

After posting the last post we headed out up to the bus stop. Just as we walked up the bus arrived so we were off to the Colosseum. Like before I took a lot of photos. So I created a folder on Google Drive of just the Colosseum photos (click here). It's amazing to think about how the Romans packed the Colosseum to watch the games. We read a number of signs telling the story. For example, Pam was thinking we would see a wide open center. Instead as the photos show you see a maze of walls. What's missing is the wooded floor that has long disappeared. 

You had to be in good shape to walk the steps of the Colosseum. Not only are there a lot of them but the steps are very big. Almost a step and half for each step. Have to be honest and say my knees struggled a little today. It wasn't the going up so much but the coming down. We stopped off at the gift shop on the way out and Pam picked up a few gifts. 

Outside we checked on horse buggy rides but at 150 Euros, we decided to pass. Instead we walked across these large stepping stones and worked our way up the hill so we could take some additional photos. I'm sure you will notice in the Colosseum photo folder there are a few photos.

We then hopped on the bus and took a short ride to the Spanish steps. It was lunch time and Aaron wanted to pick the place to eat. The first couple of places he rejected because they offered hamburgers and cheese burgers. Then we headed down a small street. (One thing about Rome even the small streets have a lot to offer). Stopping and looking at a menu with a dozen different languages, Aaron decided this would be our stop. Turned out to be another good meal. The place was called Ristorante Pizzeria but to be honest I think a lot of them are called this. We were escorted to our seats by one gentlemen and then another came to wait on us. Very friendly and could speak English. After our order he convinced Sara to take a sampling of the house wine. The glass was pretty much full when he presented it to her. Both Aaron and Sara enjoyed the wine. We order Bruschetta and what we got was 4 large slices of Bruschetta but also a large tray of fresh mozzarella cheese, smoked ham and Prosciutto. Yes, we were pretty full when the main course arrived.  After lunch we headed up the hill to the Spanish Steps. Found ourselves at the top of the steps already. But it wouldn't be any fun unless we took on the challenge. So down the 136 steps we went. At the bottom took a few photos. Sara and Pam were given flowers by someone trying to sell the flowers. Sara was sharp enough to know that she needed to give it back or pay for it. But Pam decided to make some lady happy by giving her the flower. The only problem was the man wanted his flower back or his money. Pam said "I told you no I didn't want the flower. When you gave me the flower you said Merry Christmas so I thought you gave me the flower". Needless to say, the man was upset and chewed Pam out as he walked away. First there was Cancun where she got thrown out of a store trying to talk down the price and now at the bottom of the great Spanish Steps she's chewed out by another. Stand back folks - she's all mine. 
We of course had to go up the steps after walking around at the bottom for a bit. At the top Sara and Aaron went the extra few steps to the very top. From there we headed back to the bus, made a stop at a gift shop and yours truly had to do some bargaining. What was marked 41 Euro's cost me 25. Sure there were better deals but the guy was fun to deal with. From there onto the bus where we found ourselves stuck for what they said was a 15 minute break that turned into 30. I think a couple of them were Christmas shopping. Got back to our stop and decided to explore. Found a clothing store where we did a little shopping and got me another hat. From there we just walked a bit and found ourselves back to the room. Well I stayed in the room, the other three went to get Gelato. We did check with the near by eating establishments and they are all open Christmas Day. So, we plan on walking and exploring Christmas Day. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Christmas Eve. According to Aaron we have walked over 13 miles the past two days. Then again the food we are eating I think equals out all the exercise. Believe it or not we still have supper ahead. For those who haven't seen my Facebook - I tend to post food when I make road trips. That's why your seeing so many food photos. 
Last item for today - I'm trying to upload photos to various Google Drive folders. But the uploading is slow. I have a ton more photos to add and may not get them done until we return to the states the way things are going. I also have videos but no way will I try to upload them now.