10,000 before 8

Today. Was. Crazy. But first, look at the beautiful morning. Taken from the Piazza di Spagna at 6:41 this morning. See, we had heard that if you get up early and get to Trevi fountain super early, you can get it without a crowd. Hahahahaha. Maybe in 1984 that worked. Today, not so much. We got up at 5:00, left our place at 5:30, and arrived at 6. It was crowded! I saw a model, a bride and groom, and some man wearing some silk couture cloak. Where the fountain lacked in emptiness, it overflowed with excellent people watching. 

After we enjoyed the fountain with friends, we headed over to the Piazza di Spagna and Spanish steps. It was a beautiful view where  we thought we might try to be at sunset. At this point it’s about 6:45. We had 8:45 skip the line tour reservations for the Colosseum. We needed to make sure to find a place to have some breakfast before our very long tour. We found a little cafe near the colosseum. We try to avoid eating near the touristy areas, but it couldn’t be avoided. The croissants and cappuccino weren’t very good. I didn’t even remember to take a picture. As my title mentioned, we had already walked a lot of steps. 

We made our way to the colosseum, which by the way is crazy to come upon in a modern city! We met up with our tour group and started in the underground part of the coliseum. I didn’t know too much history before the tour. I think I still don’t, but learned a few things too. It was above 90 degrees and after 3 hours, I was as crispy as the delicious crust from my I pizza the day before. There is a kitty that lives in the Colosseum. For the life of me, I cant remember his name.

It was about 11:45 when me moved on from the ruins and our feet were ready for rest. We were also ready to eat! 

We headed to a spot Brian found with good reviews. It was super good! Had a lemongrass iced tea and pizza and I was a happy traveler again. Tired of walking, but ready to move on. We did some gelato after lunch. It was so good and the line was long to prove it. I had a cream and chocolate swirl and also caffe. It was interesting because it was a strong coffee flavor and wasn’t sweet. It was the first time I had had ice cream that wasn’t sweet. 

At 2:15 we were just about ready to head back to our place to rest and Brian got a text reminder for a 4:00 tour at the Borghese Gallery. Oops. We had a tour on Saturday that they cancelled so he had rebooked for today and we kinda forgot. Now. We had  two choices. First, we could run home (30 minute walk), shower real quick (it was 90+ and we were gross), and then take a bus to the museum. Or second, we stay dirty in that area and cruise over to the museum from where we were. We needed to bathe. So, first choice it was. We hurried back to our place and arrived at about 2:45. The bus was coming at 3:14 and we are about a 7 minute walk from the stop. We both took 2 minute showers and were back on the street in less than 15. We needed bus tickets which took until 3:05 to buy. Got them! Walked very very quickly to the bus stop and arrived at the exact moment that the bus was there only he wouldn’t open the door because he had already closed it. Next but was at 3:20. Our tour was supposed to meet at the gallery at 3:45. The bus came a little late and we hit some traffic. Off the bus at 3:58. Literally ran down the street, ran into the museum courtyard, and found the tour groups at exactly 4:00!. The one we were looking for wasn’t there. We got some help and found them…only they discovered that we were in the group that the tour guide had cancelled. Yep. Cancelled. We got a couple options and chose to do a self guided tour with a partial refund. We went in and we’re done wandering this smaller than expected museum by 4:45. What an afternoon. 

Headed back toward our place and decided that maybe since we were out we would look for some dinner. Found a spot we had considered going the night before and had a pretty good dinner .

After dinner it was about 7:45 and we decided on one more adventure. We hiked up Junicolo hill  and watched the sunset over the city. it was a great way to digest dinner!

It was a great end to a 36,670 step day. We are exhausted. I’m sleeping in tomorrow. It’s supposed to be high 90’s tomorrow. We are hoping to do some underground touring to beat the heat. It’s a holiday here tomorrow, so fingers crossed!