Day 83, Rome, Italy

---

We didn't think it was even possible for it to get any hotter than it had been in Pisa, but it was scorching here. This was one of the first times that our bags had really started to irritate us. It was 36 degrees, the directions to our Airbnb weren't very clear and when we arrived we couldn't even get into the building. We had to phone our host, who didn't answer straight away, but we finally made it in. We were shown around our apartment and it was definitely worth the money, we couldn't have asked for a better last place to stay, we even had our own balcony which was shaded, perfect for this weather!

We got ourselves freshened up, grabbed some food and headed straight to the Trevi Fountain, it was absolutely packed but we managed to pass our way through to the front. Being one of the most famous fountains in the world you can see why it would be so busy with people trying to get the best photo of it, although it was surprisingly difficult to get the perfect snap with people walking past your camera every second. The most incredible thing we found out when we came here was that around 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain DAILY, but every night the fountain is cleared and all the money is given to charities, wonderful idea!

The hustle and bustle was unlike anywhere we had been on our trip so far. All the narrow cobbled streets were packed with tourists, shop displays and street performers - it was going to take a while to get from A to B.

We headed straight down to the Colosseum, we couldn't miss it, it was humongous. Funny thing was, a fellow English traveller stopped us on our walk down to it, and asked us "Where is the Colosseum?" we said, "right there in front of you"... although she was slightly embarrassed that she couldn't see it, it was very funny for us.

We expected the queues to be really long and the time was already pushing on, but to our amazement the queue wasn't too long and appeared to be moving quickly. At the front of the line we were even happier to find that our ticket included entry to the Roman ruins that were located just next to the Colosseum. 12 Euros for both of these top attractions was an absolute bargain, the ruins themselves will take us the majority of a day to explore completely. The ticket itself can be used on two separate days, which was perfect for our situation.

The Colosseum was unlike anything else we had ever seen before, everyone in the world has heard of and seen what the place looks like, yet it's one of those places that you really have to see with your own eye. The pictures do it no justice, the place was massive. After all it is the largest amphitheater ever built.

It's crazy to think that it's been standing for hundreds of years and used to hold audiences between 50,000-80,000. It was home to all sorts, gladiatorial contests, public spectacles and even executions. Entertainment wasn't always the purpose for the Colosseum either, at one time it was used as living quarters and even as a fortress. Quite rightly, this is one of Rome's main tourist attractions, if you visit the city and don't come here, there better be a good reason why.

.