One crazy day in Rome

Did I mention the taxi drivers? Actually, all the drivers. Crazier and more aggressive than those in New York. Red lights and traffic circle protocol mean nothing. And the vespas? A scooter can go into tighter spaces than the cabs. Oh boy....keep your eyes closed if you're riding shotgun!
To save time, we took a taxi from our hotel to the entrance of the Coliseum. We got there at 8:15, bright and early. The crowds were already starting to trickle in. We wore our jackets but it wasn't unbearably cold.

I didn't realize that there were so many stray cats hanging around Italy. We even saw one who looked like Vader in the structure itself. Here, kitty kitty...

We really enjoyed the Rick Steves audio tour of the Colosseum.  The stories about the animals and people waiting in the underground tunnels and passageways were particularly fascinating.
 I love being an early bird and avoiding the crowds, when possible. As we left the structure, there were hundreds of additonal people hanging around and some were waiting in line to get in. I was still surprised at the amount of tourists, despite the fact that this is November and it's supposed to be off season.
Heading over to the Roman Forum next door, we enjoyed exploring the ruins of the government buildings in the center of the ancient city. The palace of the vestal virgins was a bit disturbing, since those who did not remain chaste were given a loaf of bread and a lantern and buried alive. Eeek...I don't know if I would have lasted until age 40, when the woman's term of honorable service ended.

Jackson offered some coins at the site where Julius Caesar's body was burned. In frugal fashion, and to be perfectly honest, he found a couple of coins at his feet at the site, picked them up, and then threw them in. That's my boy.

We found a great panini stop at 200 Gradi, close to the Vatican Museums. We had skip the line tickets, showed up an hour early, weaved through the massive crowd waiting in line, and got right in.

The Vatican Museums house some of the most famous works in the world, including the School of Athens and the Sistene Chapel. One could easily spend a day here. Luckily, the museum group exit spilled out into St. Peter's cathedral. Although La Pieta and a few other famous works were curtained off, we were able to explore much of the huge complex in an afternoon.

As the sun was setting, we did something that I've always wanted to do...climb the cupola of St Peter's and look out on to Vatican Square. Walking around the complex was gorgeous at night, although we were getting cranky again due to lack of food and restaurants not opening till 7 p.m. But we found a delicious place recommended by a shop owner and enjoyed a true Italian meal with all the courses before heading back to the hotel. One of the bad things about being an early bird is that you also are ready to go to bed by 8 or 9 p.m. Which we did.