Second attempt to get into the Colosseum today and this time we succeeded. We decided to pay for a guided tour and the guide spent a while outside giving some history of Rome and the Colosseum before taking us inside. She wasn't the best guide but we did get in without queueing so that was worthwhile.
Enjoyed looking around inside and we seemed to spend ages in there. They have a museum inside now that's showing exhibits related to Nero, so we had a look at that and spent a while looking at the views inside and outside the amphitheatre. Whilst we were there a group of people dressed as various types of Romans went past, doing some kind of parade, which was a little bizzare.
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| Everyone inside the Colosseum |
When we came out we had a bit of a late lunch, sat outside, and then headed over to the Palatine area, where the emperor's palaces used to be. Much of the area is now taken up by the palace and gardens of the emperor Domitian, who flattened a lot of the older buildings to create his own extravagant estate. The buildings we massive and his supposed 'garden' was big enough to house a stadium in its own right.
From there we went on to the older area where Augustus' house was. He was the great nephew of Julius Caesar, and the first emperor of Rome. There was a long queue to get in, which I waited in while Lucy took the boys to some nearby gardens. The house was very modest by comparison to the previous palace (although in a slightly lesser state of ruin) and it was interesting to see how wealth and power had changed the emperors over time.
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| Decorative wall paintings in the house of Augustus |
I found it a really interesting visit, but I think the rest of the family have had enough of Roman ruins now, so we'll do some of the more relaxing sights tomorrow.
Luke's joke of the day:
What do you get if you cross a kangaroo with a sheep?
A woolly jumper!
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