Rome-Pt. 1 Hotel, Colosseum and Palatine Hill

 The view from my room. I felt like I was in the ghetto, but the hotel was nice enough.

 My room.

 "For washing off your backside, right?" Ha! Ten points if you can name that move.

 SPQR! On the sewer!

 This was the bus stop near my hotel. I bought my 24 hour ticket at the news stand behind the post. The cost was six euro and they do not except credit.

 Route 85 and 16. From my hotel the 85 stopped near the Colosseum and Trivia Fountain.

 I was in the bus and we drove over a hill and tada! The Colosseum. I was pretty excited to see it. It was crammed in a lot more than it appears to be in the movies though. I was a little surprised.

 The ceiling in the Colosseum. Pretty ornate, but most of it is gone now. It's really too bad.

My tour guide is standing in front of the cross with his hand raised. He was a fun guide. I paid 35 euro for a two part tour to the Colosseum and Palatine hill. It seems like a lot, but I also got to go straight in to both places, instead of waiting in the hour long line, in the blistering heat. It was really worth it, and after everything it was only about 10 euro more.

 

 These were some artifacts that were found in the arena: including animal bones and an animal skull.

 This was my second tour guide. His name was Max and he was pretty funny also.

 He took us through Palatine Hill. This was the Arena on top of the hill.

Apparently Palatine Hill used to be covered from top to bottom in marble. The brick walls in the background would've been covered in marble. The tour guide said that the marble had been taken, but said that The Vatican didn't like to use that word, they preferred to use the word "recycled." I thought that was pretty funny. You can see St. Peters, in the Vatican from here.  It's the domed building in the background.

P.S. Just because you can see something in the distance doesn't mean you can walk to it.

This was a fountain on Palatine Hill. It has spring water that is piped throughout the city from the mountains. It's fresh and cool. I filled my water bottle here twice.