Read ahead to hear about scams, ruins and Michelin stars!
Knowing we didn't need to get up for any particular time I decided to forgo the alarm this morning but was shocked when we awoke at half 10! Way later than we usually ever sleep in. All this walking must really be tiring us out! As we missed breakfast we made it our aim to find a place for lunch once we were ready.
We were walking from our hotel to the metro when a man in a car pulled over to ask for directions. Adam went over and I stood on the pavement. I assumed Adam would only be a second, once the man understood we were English and therefore wouldn't be able to help him. Adam and him continued to chat though and after a few seconds I was called over. The man explained he was from France, in Italy working as a buyer for Versace. He said he needed to find the French embassy which was near the colosseum. I was suspicious straight away, I mean who explains their whole life story when you ask for directions? However despite my initial reservations I did have a map on me so explained where he needed to be headed. He said he was very grateful of the help and as a show of gratitude he gifted us a 'Versace' coat. I've been subscribed to Vogue for over half my life and I knew the cheap tatt that he flashed us certainly wasn't Versace.
My suspicions were heightened although I still couldn't quite see where the scam was. Then he said he needed some petrol for the car but was having some card problems and was there any money we could lend him? Ah so there it was. I told him we didn't carry money, we put everything on card because Rome was full of dodgy characters. He started to get arsey at that point, demanding to see inside my purse. At that point we walked away. I had a google when we got back and discovered a few stories reporting this scam and it seemed a lot of people weren't as wise as us and ended up considerably poorer so I was quite proud of us!
Anyway we got to our lunch destination, a place called 0,75, which was right by the colosseum. We had some really nice sandwiches with a side of fries. It was a great lunch place.
Then we headed to the colosseum. We had prebooked our tickets and it took us about 10 minutes before we were inside. It was amazing to walk around and take in all the history and just try to get your head around some of the stuff that would have happened there. There were lots of plaques around offering various information, like how they would fill the arena with trees and release ostriches into the arena so people could attempt to hunt them.
Once we were back outside we saw the Arch of Constantine, which is what inspired the arc de triumphe. It was very grand and impressive but it had gating around which did take away from it slightly.
We then went exploring the most ancient part of Rome, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. These areas date back to 1000BC! Unfortunately at this point in the day it had reached about 35 degrees and we were really feeling the heat. We walked around the ruins which were really impressive and incredibly well preserved. However a few of the ruins we decided to skip because they involved climbing steps or walking uphill and we seriously couldn't manage it in the heat! Adam had started to turn a shade of red.
We ended the day in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele which is the largest piazza in Rome. It was quite nice but there were quite a lot of 'youths' hanging around the area and it didn't feel entirely friendly haha. We were able to get a metro right from inside the square though, back to our hotel.
We got changed and refreshed, tonight we were heading out for our first ever Michelin star dinner!
We went to Aroma restaurant, known not only for its fine cuisine but because it looks directly over the colosseum. It really couldn't have been more perfect as we arrived in time to see the sun set over the ruin. The staff were of course amazing, as I'm sure is the standard for this kind of restaurant.
Upon arrival we were served a complimentary dish of smoked salmon and cucumber puree, I hate both salmon and cucumber but I tried it and I wasn't sick so that was something haha. For the main meal I ordered a fillet of Veal and Adam had a seafood risotto. The fillet was beautiful, so big and juicy but I think Adam would have preferred a pizza haha.
We were then treated to a complimentary 'pre dessert' which was some lime and white chocolate concoction which was nice. Adam didn't fancy a dessert but I ordered the chocolate souffle which was majorly beautiful. Absolutely divine! Adam stared longingly over the table, I wasn't sharing!
To finish off the evening we had some complimentary chocolates, served in a sort of glass orb. Overall I was very pleased with our dining experience, all held on a terrace overlooking one of the most beautiful sights in the world. An amazing day from start to finish!
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