The Walking Tour

We were due to meet our guide at 0900, so left the hotel in plenty of time to get to the meeting point.  We walked to a metro station and went the few stops to Colsseo station.  We were early, but the guide appeared ahead of time too.

First stop was the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Colsseum, where we got a good impression of the scale of the building in its heyday and the events held there.

From there, into the area of the Forum and up the Palatine hill to the terrace above the former imperial palace.  This gave great views over the forum and to the Colsseum.

Then back down into the forum to look at the remains of the old basilicas and the churches - which were generally a series of churches, one built on top of the other.  We saw the altar on which Julius Caesar was cremated and the triumphal arches at each end of the forum.

From there, we went through the area of the town hall with its statue of Marcus Aurelius and on into the Jewish quarter.  Here there are some large 'palaces' amongst the smaller streets and passageways.  Every square has a church.

Then on to where Julis Caesar was murdered - now Rome's cat sanctuary!  This was on the end of Pompey's estate which had formal buildings and gardens (now beneath the general fabric of Rome).

There are areas where the modern buildings follow the shape of ancient theatres because they are built on the foundations of them.  We saw this and, below the current buildings, in some places 10m below the present ground level, parts of the original buildings.

One could not avoid a church or two - one with a fresco demonstrating the use of perspective, including what appeared to be a dome's interior painted on a flat ceiling, the Parthenon and the English church in Rome.

We walked through the main market with its varieties of pasta and seasonings for the Italian dishes we have all heard of.

A brief stop at an ice cream parlour ( more than 150 flavours - Baskin Robins eat your heart out) and then on to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps.  Over 6 hours of walking and our tour was at an end. All very interesting and we might be able to remember a few of the many facts we were told (if we are lucky).

We followed this with a drink at a pavement cafe (and a sit down) before getting the metro back toward our hotel.