Highlight: Climbing the steps of the Monument Al Vitorrio Emmanuel II and seeing Rome below.
Lowlight: Getting lost when Ariel couldn’t remember how to get to her friend’s house late at night when I was tired and just wanted to sleep.
Fun Fact: In Ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins were tasked with maintaining the sacred fire of Vesta, and as a reward for their 40 year vows of celibacy were given many privileges.
Money spent: €55.50
Ben Frustration Index(BFI): 0
Pairs of clean underwear left: 8
Book Page: 185

Today was our last day in Rome and one last chance to see any sights that we had overlooked to this point. After 3 days we had seen most of the big sights, but we still hadn’t wandered through some of the Ancient City.

Our first stop this morning was the Roman Forum. We were late for the guided tour, so instead we rented an audio guide and took turns listening and explaining the interesting bits to each other. The Roman Forum was the centre of Roman life. It’s where the temples were located, the government met, and commerce was conducted.

After our quick trip through the Roman Forum, we rushed over to the adjacent Palatine Hill and just made it time for that guided tour. The tour was led by an archaelogist working on the site and was very informative. The Palatine Hill was where the palaces of the emperors was located. Often emperors would destroy their predecessors palace and build a new one on top. This helped to distance themselves with unpopular emperors. Palatine Hill is now layered with the remains of generations of palaces. Our guide told us that the archaeologists working on the site have only uncovered a small portion of the palace remains. The palaces were huge though, and included features like private gardens, a small chariot race track, and radiant floor heating.

In the afternoon we visited Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) and placed our hands in its mouth. Luckily, we were all virtuous and didn’t have our hands bit off. Confused by this outcome, I even tried putting my hand up its nose, but I still got it back in one piece.

We climbed up the huge Monument Al Vitorrio Emmanuel II that has amazing views of the city of Rome from its top.

For dinner, we went to a vegetarian restaurant recommended by lets go. The portions were small, but the food was some of the tastiest I have ever eaten. I tried this onion appetizer and a puff pastry for dinner. Very tasty stuff.