21 March 2011: Rome Day Four.

This morning, we decided that it would be good to spend some time apart. Michelle was looking to do some shopping and I wanted to see if I could find my way around on my own.

It was a bit of an experience being alone; I had a go at trying to converse with various shopkeepers in Italian (extremely limited vocab) and discovered pretty quickly that they all have a good command of English. They were only too willing to help me with directions and made genuine inquiries about where I was from and where I was going.

I was in no hurry and strolled along the river to Castel Sant’ Angelo and then on to Piazza Cavour. The weather was sensational and there were lots of people out strolling around just like me. Eventually wound my way back to the Trevi Fountain, which is where I met up with Michelle for the afternoon.

The afternoon was spent visiting the Colosseum, which is just an amazing place. I know you can’t really compare, but walking up the steps to enter the arena had a very familiar feel to it as you would when entering the MCG.

This is another place where you just have to stop talking and take in the atmosphere. Built in AD 72 and estimated to have held 50,000 people, they’ve done more than just kick a footy or bowl a cricket ball there in that time, this was a place of life or death for many, many people.

As I stood there taking one last glance around the arena before leaving, I couldn’t help but cup my hands to my mouth and yell out, “carn the Pies!!!!” Sounds just as good there as it does at the MCG.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking the streets and visiting the (huff) Spanish (puff) Steps (wheeze)….made a mental note to lose a few kilos and get some fitness back after that. The workout to get to the top was well worth the view, this is a must do for anyone new to the city.