Antica Roma/Ancient Rome

Tour Day 3: Ancient Heart of Rome

Ancient Rome is an interest of mine. Between reading issues of National Geographic as a child and classic literature as an adult including philosophy, history, mythology, and plays from Ancient Rome, I was very excited to delve into this aspect of the tour. We started with the Roman Forum, the location where Julius Caesar was famously stabbed to death by the Senate and Shakespeare's famous line of "Et tu, Brute?" These days, it is also famous for its feral cat colony that are treated very well by the locals. We explored the area where the ancient Romans lived, ending with the breathtaking view of the Colosseum (the best place to get that breathtaking picture of the colossal structure as well, so be sure not to miss out on that!).

We then went into the Colosseum. Our tour guide, Antonella, also happens to be an archeologist and would cite the research rather than repeating urban legends, which I greatly appreciated. She guided us through the Colosseum with stories of how gladiators were only about 15-16 years-old, ate a mostly plant-based diet, and were mostly captured slaves from conquered lands. This is no Russell Crow Gladiator experience. It was a brutal time where violence was a part of their culture and celebrated as a virtue.

Enjoying a peak of the sun between clouds at the Colosseum! There is no bad angle from this part of the Roman Forum.

Tip for Photographers: There is not a bad angle in sight, but be prepared to bring an ultra wide angle lens and shoot in RAW format if you want to bring out the shadows and see all of the detail. I used a Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR at 10mm for these images.

The tour group in the Colosseum

I went to lunch with a few of the other women who were solo traveling, which was so delicious, I am unsure if I can recreate the dishes at home, but I am sure going to try! Then it was onto the bus for our first drive of the tour to Volterra! Little did we know what adventure awaited on the way.

Tour Day 3: Heart of Tuscany

One thing I love about Rick Steves tours is that while the groups run 24-28 people in size, the tour bus always accommodates about 50. This means that you can have both seats on your side of the aisle should you choose to do so. We had a very comfortable drive with the ability to charge our cell phones all the way to Volterra. As a part of this, we had breaks built in every 90 minutes or so due to Italian laws about drivers having 15 minute breaks. This was the perfect opportunity for a bio break and a quick caffé. Many of us happily took advantage of both!

On the way, we experienced our first heavy rain of the tour, which was expected given it was late October, though the intensity and duration was a bit surprising to all as it lasted for a number of hours. What was not expected was the car accident that happened 2 vehicles ahead of us and blocked both sides of the only road leading into Volterra for several hours. We happily chatted with each other and Rhianne told us more about roman origins of words and sayings we use today, some history of Volterra ahead of time, and started teaching the bus basic numbers in Italian as she read off our room numbers for the hotel.

We arrived in Volterra and had a dinner at La Carabaccia, a local restaurant where it felt like you were in someone's home, after quickly dropping off our bags at Hotel La Locanda. The town was quiet except for the clacking of our suitcase wheels on the cobblestone. The dinner was exceptional, once again, and we experienced our first cinghiale (wild boar, an area specialty) along with the surprise to some that Tuscany traditionally does not put salt in their bread. The ingredients to Tuscan dishes are simple without much seasoning; however, the flavors are lively and delight for the taste buds as quality ingredients are always picked for optimal flavor. The group was getting on so well and getting to know each other better while sharing food and bottles of wine.

Andiamo a Esplorare Volterra!