It started raining very early in the morning and we could only wait in the guesthouse. As soon as the skies cleared, we headed for the Colosseum! It is very easy to get to the Colosseum; take the "B" line Metro and stop at "Colosseo" Station.
The Colosseum was crowded with tourists. There were little stalls selling souvenirs. There were also people offering to be your tour guides and some people were dressed up as gladiators. These gladiators will pose for photos with you but I read somewhere that you need to pay them EUR5 for that. We had barely taken some photos of the exterior of the Colosseum when it started to rain heavily again. We decided not to enter the Colosseum.
Come to think of it now, we should have entered the Colosseum. Can you imagine how majestic this place was in the past?
The Colosseum also known as, the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome. It was the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire and is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world. The Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions The Colosseum, like all the Historic Centre of Rome, Properties of the Holy See in Italy and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. In 2007 the complex was also included among the New 7 Wonders of the World. Source from Wiki.
We returned to the guesthouse and waited for the rain to come to a drizzle. Since it was our last day in Rome, we decided to proceed with Vatican City. Take "A" line Metro and stop at Ottaviano Station. To our dismay, it started raining heavily before we even reached the entrance of Vatican City! Despite that we had an umbrella, we still had to take shelter in one of the cafes outside Vatican City.
The skies finally cleared but there was a very long queue to get into the museum (the queue went almost half of the square). Just as we were contemplating if we should join the very very very long queue, it started to rain again. There were still tourists who continued to queue with their umbrellas. Such perseverance!
We decided to take a walk in the rain. The Vatican City is actually quite near to Spanish Steps. It was a really enjoyable stroll and we saw many beautiful buildings. However I was not able to take much pictures as it was drizzling. We finally took the metro from Spagna Station back to Termini Station.
Vatican City, officially Vatican City State is a landlocked sovereign city state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of around 840. This makes Vatican City the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population. In the city are cultural sites such as St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. Source from Wiki.
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