The Colosseum - Underground and Third Tier Tour
The Colosseum was the symbol of the power of Rome at one point:
“Quandiu stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma;
Quando cadit coliseus, cadet et Roma
Quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus.”
– by Bede, 8th century
(meaning: As long as the Colosseum stands, Rome shall stand; if the Colosseum falls, Rome shall fall. And when Rome falls, the world falls).
The Colosseum is an amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Its construction started between 70 and 72 AD and was completed around 81 – 96 AD. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 to 80,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. With 80 entrances, it was designed so that all 80,000 spectators could exit within 15-20 minutes. That alone is a wonder in itself. How they came up with the evacuation design is any one’s guest. In modern world, we need complicated algorithm and/or computers to figure this out, but the Romans managed to do this all by themselves without any help from any software, almost 2000 years ago!
In 80AD, Emperor Titus held an inaugural party, which lasted 100 days. The opening games included a gladiatorial contest, a wild-beast hunt, a horse race, and a re-enacted naval battle between 3,000 men, followed by an infantry battle…just in the first 3 days. At the end of the 100th day, a total of 5000 animals were brutally killed. Many wild exotic animals went extinct during this period.
Today, the Colosseum is a background to the busy metropolis that is modern Rome. Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Some performers who have played at the Colosseum were Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003), Elton John (September 2005), and Billy Joel (July 2006).
To follow the tradition, every year Roman Catholic Pope led a public prayer of the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday. Originally, the Pope John Paul II himself carried the cross from station to station, but in his last years when age and infirmity limited his strength, John Paul presided over the celebration from a stage on the Palatine Hill, while others carried the cross. Just days prior to his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II observed the Stations of the Cross from his private chapel. Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation texts for the Stations. Past composers of the Papal Stations include several non-Catholics. The Pope himself wrote the texts for the Great Jubilee in 2000 and used the traditional Stations.
In recent years it has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum’s night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released, or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold when capital punishment was abolished in the American state of New Mexico in April 2009.
Colosseum’s Underground and Third Tier Tour - On our trip in June, we had a special guided tour of the Colosseum, descended to the dark depths under the world’s biggest ancient amphitheater, and climbed the steep steps to its highest (existing) level to admire the majestic views over the arena and the magnificent ruins of the Roman Forum and Arch of Constantine next door (panorama-10.JPG & panorama-1.JPG). These parts of the Colosseum had never before open to the public until very recently.
We couldn’t quite imagine the scale of the Colosseum until we went up to the newly-opened third tier of the amphitheater, the highest section still standing.
This is where the middle classes sat, with the emperors and senators in the best ground-level seats and the plebeians in the peanut gallery on top. On the way to the third level, you’ll be able to admire the only original vaulted passageway leading to the seats that is still standing. This level boasts heart-stopping views of Rome, from Palatine Hill to the distant Vittorio Emanuele monument. And, at about 115ft in the air, you’re still more than 70ft below where the highest seats would have been! Also on this level, you’ll see how each opening on the wall was perfectly aligned to the glass panels on the floors and stairs, which allowed light to come into the lower levels. You’ll also find obvious evidence of drainage systems. All of which are proofs to the Roman’s ingenuity.
Also on this special guided tour, we were taken to the hypogeum (underground tunnels and rooms) where gladiators prepared for victory, or death.
Along with an official guide from the Colosseum, we entered the Colosseum through the back entrance known as the Porta Libidinaria – where in Roman times, the gladiators made their grand entrance into the arena – and take a glass elevator down into the bowels of the arena. There were subterranean chambers and long vaulted galleries which housed gladiators and wild exotic animals for the games of that specific day, and ships for mock naval battles. In its early days, the Colosseum was even flooded with water and naval battles were reenacted for the public. The water that was used for the naval battles – and, more gruesomely, to wash away the blood of battles – came from an underground stream that was channeled by the Romans and still flows through the site to this day (picture below).
There were 80 elevators or lifts (all numbered) powered purely by humans to bring gladiators, animals and stage decorations from the subterranean up to stage. We also walk through the Porta Libitina, the exit arch from the arena for the dead. Through this tour, we got a feel for what it was like for the wild animals and gladiators waiting for their turn in what was the backstage of the biggest spectacle in the world at the time. It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.
Almost 2000 years later, the Colosseum is only a fraction of what it used to be. Yet, these ghostly remains still fascinate us. They’re chilling epitaph to the western world’s greatest and most brutal empire. The memories of the Colosseum spectacles and of the thousands who died here in the name of entertainment live on in our imagination.
Having a good guide for this tour is so crucial. S/He will make the history come alive, and point certain things out that could easily be overlooked if you do it alone. Feel free to leave your comments and/or questions. I’ll try my best to answer them. Like always, we took a lot of pictures. Let me know if you’d like to see them.
Notes: To visit the underground and third level, you must book a guided tour in advance. The tour costs €8, plus €1.50 for audio equipment, on top of the normal €12 entrance fee (which includes entrance to the Colosseum, Palatine and Forum). To book, I’d recommend you calling Rome cultural association, Pierreci, directly at +39 06 3996 7700. Tours are currently available until the end of September. Restoration is scheduled to begin in October.
2/10/12: Although the Underground is currently CLOSED due to flooding, and has been closed since the end of October, some tour operators are still selling that tour without mentioning any thing about the strong possibility that you will not be able to go into this section. There has been no announcement about when the underground will be open again. To avoid unpleasant surprise, I highly recommend calling/emailing them directly and ask before you book the tour.
Vacation home in Cabo San Lucas?
We loved it so much here that DH almost bought a house! We spent an entire day looking at some ocean-view properties, but in the end, decided not to buy. The irony was, if they had not pressured us so much, we may have bought it! We wanted a few days to look through the contract and talk to a few people back home, but they wouldn’t let us. The salesman said we had to sign the contract that day to get that price. We hate making such a big decision without being fully informed. So we walked away, still questioning whether we made the right choice. DH did a lot of researches afterwards. We talked to a few owners. And we realized how lucky we were that we did not make a rash decision. We could easily rent any of those villas from the owners, any time we want. And there were many choices on the secondary market as well, for much less than what the developers were asking. Although our whole day was gone by the time we walked out of the sales center, we were glad for that experience.
Prior to this trip, we knew vacation homes weren’t for us. But after viewing the properties, we were so tempted. The villas were all so beautiful, 3-4 bedrooms, brand new, elegantly decorated, fully furnished and in a gated community with 24/7 live guards. You have the expansive view of the Pacific Ocean from every room in the house. Each villa comes with a private infinity pool, Jacuzzi, hot tub, barbeque and a fire pit. Maid services twice a day, a dedicated butler, a pool boy cleaning the pool daily, and free shuttle services to close-by 5-star resorts whenever you need. They will even buy groceries and adjust the pool temperature for you prior to your arrival. Whatever you need/want, just voice your requests and they will be taken care of. All are included in the yearly maintenance charge. Paradise. Maybe later, when we have more free time…
Activities in Cabo San Lucas
We did the sunset dinner cruise. They took us to Land’s End to see the Arch, seal colony & Lover’s Beach. The sunset was beautiful. The cruise came with all you can drink and a buffet dinner. The ride was pretty rough for me and I got seasick. Needless to say, I couldn’t enjoy the food or the drinks. But it was fun regardless.
For $10, you could also arrange for a glass-bottom taxi boat to take you to Lover’s Beach on the Sea of Cortez and Divorce Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Be warned though, there are no facilities on those beaches, so if you do go, take plenty of water and sunscreen.
We were most excited to see whales for the first time in our lives here. Thousands of whales come here every year from late November to March to give birth. It is a ritual for them to return to where they were born to bring their own babies into this world. It’s the longest migration made by any mammal. It’s a long hard trip for these gentle creatures, but the lagoons in Baja are the perfect location for birthing. The gray whales were once hunted to near extinction in the very waters they work so hard to visit. They are now protected in the U.S. and Mexico, with the estimated population over 20,000 strong.
You can be as laid-back or as active as you like. When it comes to activities, you have many choices, such as swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, scuba diving, riding the camels, exploring the desert, fishing, etc. Cabo San Lucas has the largest marlin tournament in the world. Taking place towards the end of October every year, Bisbee’s Black and Blue Marlin Tournament lasts 3 days and features millions of dollars in prizes. 2011 tournament boasted a field of 100 boats and more than 560 anglers representing 12 different nations. Top honor went to a very respectable 409-pound marlin, and second place took home more than $1 million bucks!
Poncho’s
We had dinner at Poncho’s (at the Marina) the 2nd night we were there, I liked it so much that we came back there again later in the week. Marco, the owner, made his specialties right at the table. Ceasar salads and lobsters. The lobsters were caught daily, they were so fresh and sweet. They were cooked table-side in a sauce that had lots of garlic, butter, and cognac. He also made some alcohol drinks that looked like flowing lava and flaming fire, pretty interesting.
I found a list of good restaurants in Cabo (along with Google map) during my research prior to the trip. Let me know if you’re interested.
Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Holistic Resort & Spa and its sisters
Our vacation in Cabo San Lucas had a rough start (see our experience at the airport), but we didn’t let any of that bother us. We were there to relax and enjoy ourselves, and we did exactly that. We stayed at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Holistic and Spa Resort and loved it.
The resort was very serene, all adults, quiet, with soft music playing in the background and aromatherapy mist in the air. All toiletries were special ordered from Bath & Body Works. Everything was almost perfect, except…We found the maid service very lacking for a resort in this caliber. They did not refill/provide new shampoo, lotion and soaps. We accidently dropped the almost-completely-gone body soap to the drainage. We intentionally did not pick it up, wanted to see what the maids would do. To our surprise when we return to the room, they picked up that dirty tiny piece of soap that we dropped, put it back to the soap dish, and did NOT give us any new soap. We had to go ask for new soaps, shampoo and lotion. Also, the AC/Heat unit didn’t really work in our room. Maintenance came once, but they pretty much said that they couldn’t do any thing. From what they explained to me, the temperature was centrally controlled, we couldn’t change to our preferences. The thermostat was there to control the fan speed, but not the temp. Really? Seriously? Luckily, the temperature was so comfortable that we didn’t really need AC during the day or Heat at night.
Pacifica was located on the Pacific Ocean side. It had miles of private beach that we could walk on without being bothered by vendors.
The waves were big and currents were strong, swimming was strictly prohibited. But they provided free convenient shuttles to the sister resorts (Rose & Blanco), where you could swim. Another sister resort right next to Pacifica is Sunset Beach. Each resort has its own personality and design.
Pacifica, as mentioned above, is a meditation oasis in the desert.
Sunset Beach is lush and family oriented.
Rose is of course pink and fun.
Blanco is all white and hip.
Services at Pacifica and Sunset Beach were better in our opinion. With a few exceptions, most people worked hard and did not expect tips in return. They always greeted us with a smile, and they remembered our preferences. Rose and Blanco were fun to visit for couple hours, but we didn’t like the vibe there. It was more crowded, more happening, but the service was not as attentive. We found the food at these 2 resorts very disappointing too. On the other hand, the tuna tartar and Ceasar salad at Siempre (Pacifica), calamari and chicken mole at Bistro, and orange juice (Sunset Beach) were probably one of the best that we’ve had. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, so sweet, all natural, no sugar or water added. I had at least 6 glasses a day every day. Loved it! But it is quite expensive ($3.5/small glass) if you don’t have all inclusive. Breakfast at La Nao (Sunset Beach) has better selection than Pacifica. Ask for a table outside, the view was unbeatable!
You could either choose the all-inclusive package or go a la carte. All-inclusive package at Pacifica allows you to use the facilities and eat at all restaurants at their sister resorts (Sunset Beach, Rose and Blanco). They have free shuttles running every half hour between the resorts. Rose and Blanco are close to town, it is a 15-minute walk to the marina and downtown from there. It was very easy and convenient for us. To explore town, we chose a la carte the first 5 days. Then switched to all-inclusive the last 3. It worked out really well for us.
Our 7-night hotel was complimentary, courtesy of American Express when we booked our European Cruise through them. They gave us a choice of four 4-5 star resorts in Mexico. We were glad that we chose Pacifica; it fit our personality the most. Like always, we took lots of pictures. Let me know if you’re interested in seeing them. Feel free to leave your comments/questions. I’ll try my best to answer any question you may have.
Cabo San Lucas Airport (SJD) & Timeshare
Cabo San Lucas’ airport is small. 2 flights came in, and it was packed to the door! And when it was that crowded, it’s hard to maintain order. While most fellow travelers were cordial and got in line, patiently wait for their turn, there were always a few people that try to cut in line. 1 couple pretended not to hear people around telling them where the end of the line was. The other couple stopped, asked, asked again, and again, THEN decided the line was way too long, they would rather go to the front! Everyone shook their heads, couldn’t believe how rude those people were.
As we exited the airport, many salesmen tried to pull us over, or lead us to a different exit. We passed the first group unscathed. Then we got tricked into believing someone was working for our transportation company, wasted 30 minutes listening to his sales pitch. He wouldn’t give us our transfer voucher back until we agreed to attend his timeshare presentation. So beware if you are not interested in timeshares. As you passed through custom, exit a door, turn right and keep walking ALL the way out until you see the cars. Do NOT let anyone pull you aside. If you are booking transportation with a company, their people will be wearing their logo, waiting for you outside the exit. Do NOT stop to ask how to find your transfer like us, they will direct you to a timeshare salesman. And if you somehow end up talking to a salesman, just firmly say no to all they have to offer. Same when you get to your hotel. If you are not interested in timeshare, politely decline, they won’t bother you again.
Cabo San Lucas
After Thanksgiving, we spent a week in Cabo San Lucas, commonly called Cabo. It is a Mexican city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Unlike mainland Mexico with its tropical climate, Cabo is where the desert meets the sea. It was our first time here, we didn’t quite know what to expect. What we’d seen and experienced made us not want to leave. The weather was perfect. It was warm (low 80’s) and sunny every day, with no humidity. The nights were cool enough to sleep without turning the AC on. And the water was warm enough to swim in (around 79 degree). Though our first and last night there, it got a bit chilly (in the 50’s, which was the coldest it would get). It was 30 degree on the East Coast when we left, so we had no complaints!
With less than 8 raining days a year, sunshine year round, comfortable temperature more than 9 months out of a year, beautiful sandy beaches, the warmth of the waters, the abundance of sport fish, and close proximity to the U.S. (Los Angeles, Denver, Texas – all are within 3-hr direct flight to Cabo San Lucas), Cabo is a very popular vacationing destination. We’ve met quite a few people on this trip that have timeshares or own homes here. Some of them live in Cabo San Lucas 3-6 months a year. Even more people keep on coming back here year after year. And these are people who had travelled around the world. We asked them why, their replies, “Because there is no place as nice as this”, or “Where else do you go that you can have almost guaranteed beautiful weather year round?”
On this trip, we stayed at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Holistic Resort & Spa. My review of the resort and its sisters can be found here. Also, click on the following links for our recommendations on food and activities if interested.
Italy - June 2011
A little joke I want to share with you: Italians said they only use extra virgin olive oil. I asked what they did with the second or third pressings of the olives, they laughed and said they exported them to the U.S.! I wonder how much of that joke is true! J
Our “journey” to San Gimignano, Italy was quite an adventure. We left the States for Rome in the afternoon of June 2nd. Our flight was connected in JFK New York. At JFK, when we arrived at the gate to board the plane, I saw a large group of people gathered there, looking like they were boarding as well. There was no line. I asked where the line ended, everybody shrugged. Confused, but had no choice, we got into that bundle, slowly made our way into the plane. I’m not one who like (or can) fight and push my way through a crowd, and that meant I was pushed and shoved so that people behind me could move ahead! I was so relieved when we got to our seats. That was the strangest thing. I know about Italians and lines, but we were still in NY, and the majority of passengers were not Italians. I guess everyone decided to immerse themselves in Italian culture as soon as their trip began!
Then, once everyone was boarded, we had to wait, at first 10 minutes, then half an hr, then almost an hour because the flight crew had to do some paperwork before they could fly. Everyone was getting anxious about the delay. People worried that they would miss their connections in Rome. You would think that they had such paperwork taken care of before letting people board the plane, given that it’s something they do on a daily basis. Is it possible that the flight crew decided to adopt the “you’ll always have tomorrow” mentality as well?? Mind you, it was a Delta Flight. Then a woman had problem breathing, doctors were asked to report themselves to flight attendants for help. An American doctor came first, had a hard time communicate with the woman. Flight attendants tried to translate, but were afraid something may be lost in translation. Then an Italian doctor came, his face all flushed, seemed unsteady, had to support himself by leaning against a seat. Wait, he was drunk! Or at least half way there. I guess an hr flight delay did not stop him from enjoying himself and having a drink, or 5! But at least he and the patient could communicate. The doctor took her blood pressure, listened to her heart beat, prescribed oxygen tank and some drinks. And voila, she was fine. Then we got the good news, we were ready to take off. Finally.
When we arrived at Rome airport the next morning, the whole mess of no line presented itself again. We followed the herd, got ourselves into a large group of people and eventually made our way to the ONE small entrance into Italian Passport Control. When we were about 20-30 yards away from the entrance, a group of priests (they were in clerical clothing) joined the herd, standing next to us. Then they looked around, realized that obviously they hadn’t cut to the front of the group yet, they got out, walked around the group to the very front where that small entrance was, and worked their way in! It was hilarious. I wish we had recorded the whole thing.
The “line” or non-existent line to Italian Passport Control. See that tiny entrance with the yellow words above it? Yup, that was the entrance that the “line” was for.
After passed through immigration and custom, we got to Hertz rental car desk. Got a number, realized there were only 5 people ahead of us, and 3 representatives. This should be quick. No, it wasn’t. We waited an hour before they got to us. Signed the papers, gave our credit card, took directions to the garage. Walked out to the garage, presented our paper to the attendant, got our car. Then waited another 15 minutes for the GPS to pick up signal. Finally gave up and asked for directions out of the airport garage to Florence. Shouldn’t be that big of a deal, we had printed out Google directions as backup. 10 minutes on the highway, the GPS worked. And thank God it worked. Because without the GPS, we would never have made it to San Gimignano. Hell, who am I kidding, even WITH the GPS and the maps, we still didn’t make it to our hotel in San Gimignano! The GPS and Google maps did take us to a neighboring town…
As we were driving from Rome to San Gimignano, we realized that we couldn’t read the direction signs on the highways, nor understood some traffic signs. At each exit, there were at least 5-10 signs listing where that exit would take you. But you were going at 100 miles an hour, how in the world any foreigners could read those signs fast enough (in Italian no less) is beyond me. And if you slow down to look, people will tailgate, flash, pass then cut you off merely inches from your car and give you a heart attack. So, we blindly followed the GPS – exit here, turn right, speed camera ahead, ramp on left, etc. – all the way to our bed & breakfast in San Gimignano (or so we thought!) When we got there, it did not look any thing like the pictures. But I insisted that we were at the right place, we just needed to drive further down the wet dirt road (how could both the GPS and Google Maps fail us?!?) But failed us, they did. Now we needed to turn back on this wet dirt road full of puddles. And realized that we could not put the car in reverse! Somehow, Thuan managed to get us out of that mess and onto dry lane. I went into a house and asked for direction. Neither the owner, her husband or her neighbors spoke any English. We couldn’t speak a word in Italian. But somehow, through hand gestures, we managed to convey to them that we were utterly lost. The lady was an angel.
She spent more than an hour to help us find our way. She tried to call our friends who were already at the hotel, couldn’t get through. So she got on the phone with the hotel, asked them for directions. Then gave the phone to me, but the hotel did not know how to get us out of that place. The lady then tried to draw pictures, but of course we couldn’t quite understand. Finally, she and her husband got in their car, signaled for us to follow them, took us out of their town to where we had pictures for directions from our friends (thanks to Kate who had the foresight to do this!) Hugged and sent us on our way.
Even then, trying to be useful by helping to identify pictures and signs on the road, I got us lost, again. We then had to backtrack our way, went back to the point when we knew for sure that we weren’t lost. And Thuan took over the navigation. Despite being lost and frustrated, we couldn’t help but noticed how beautiful the area was. It was peaceful and romantic. It made us relaxed regardless of the situation we were in. To quote our friends, “If you’re ok with where you are, you’re not lost…you’re just somewhere else!” We were definitely OK with where we were, so we weren’t lost ;-) But of course Thuan, being the more responsible one, made sure that we stayed on course while enjoying the sceneries along the way. So, we arrived at the Bed & Breakfast (Fattoria Poggio Alloro) in San Gimignano 6.5 hrs after we left Rome airport. That drive should have taken less than 4 hrs. Turned out the hotel cannot be found using their address. We had to use coordinates, and it worked like a charm.
DH asked me, if Italians have such a relaxed attitude towards time, then why everyone is in such a rush to get to places. Good question. Any insight to the reason(s)?
Rome, Italy
Rome, the “Eternal City”, capital of Italy and the Catholic Church, is a modern, lively and fashionable city. According to legend, Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the War God – Mars and Rhea, a Vestal Virgin – were abandoned as babies and brought up by a She-Wolf. They grew up to lead a band of outlaws and adventurers before Romulus killed his brother and founded Rome in 753 B.C.
Rome’s history spans more than 2,700 years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
Roman expansion began in the days of the Republic, but the empire reached its greatest extent under Emperor Trajan: during his reign the Roman Empire controlled approximately 6.5 million km2 of land surface (~25.1 million square miles). Because of the Empire’s vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed, particularly Europe, and by means of European expansionism throughout the modern world.
For almost a thousand years, Rome was the most politically important, richest, and largest city in the Western world. After the Empire started to decline and was split, it lost its capital status to Milan and then to Ravenna, and was surpassed in prestige by the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople (now Istanbul), whose Greek inhabitants continued through the centuries to call themselves Roman.
Romans were great builders. Many historical sites all over Europe, not just in Italy, were built by the Romans. They built many roads too, hence the saying “All roads lead to Rome.”
They were extremely smart. Their language served as the basis for many western languages later on. They built central heating system (proofs can be seen in Ephesus). They designed and constructed aqueduct and drainage systems. They brought clean water to their people, which in turn prevented many diseases caused by consuming contaminated water. That was one of the main reasons why they were such a successful empire. They believed in the balance of Body, Mind and Spirit. Hence, they exercised, they took good care of themselves, they bathed regularly, they read, they came up with many games and forms of entertainment; they really knew how to enjoy life. In fact, they were the one who invented the saunas. Bath houses during Roman time could accommodate hundreds of people, and had cold and hot water. Until today, the citizens of Rome enjoy a relaxed way of life, and live and love life to the fullest. It is believed locally that on the last day of the world, the Romans will throw a great farewell party, a gastronomic feast with wine flowing from the city’s many fountains – “La Dolce Vita!”
Feel free to drop your comments about your own experience in Rome or ask me any question. I’ll try my best to answer them. And like always, we took tons of pictures. We can send them to you if you like.
To read about some of the main attractions Rome has to offer, such as the Pantheon, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona & the Spanish Steps, visit http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2011/08/30/28/. The article on the famous Colosseum and the tour to its underground as well as third level can be found here, http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2012/02/10/the-colosseum-underground-and-third-tier-tour/
Where to eat in San Gimignano?
If you like gelato, check out the excellent gelateria in Piazza Della Cisterna (it’ll be on your right after you pass the main cathedral in town. It’s in the piazza with the well in the middle of it). Their orange cream, pistachio & white chocolate flavors are the best. 2 restaurants inside San G walls that I would highly recommend:
1. La Bettola del Grillo 2, Via Quercecchio, 33, San Gimignano, phone: +39 0577 907081. A cute place. They have very good Italian cold cuts (salame, prosciutto, etc.) & pizzas. Some of us (yes, you know who you are!) couldn’t get enough of their prosciutto. Their pizzas are brick-oven-baked thin crust, slightly burn, crunchy and perfect. I liked the one with mushrooms, peas and anchovies the most.
2. Le Vecchie Mura, Via Piandornella, 15 53037 San Gimignano, phone: +39 0577 940270 http://www.vecchiemura.it/ is a MUST visit. It’s a beautiful restaurant with outdoor seating area that offers amazing panoramic views. I suggest get a table outside on the terrace if you can, and you’ll get this view:
Their Insalata Caprese (Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil - all fresh), eaten with balsamic & extra virgin olive oil was EXCELLENT! The local grown tomatoes were sweet. The buffalo mozzarella cheese was freshly made, soft and just melt in your mouth. The balsamic wasn’t sour like in the States at all, it was sweet and tangy. We normally don’t like eating raw tomatoes, and Thuan doesn’t even like cheese. But their Caprese salad converted us both! We also loved their Ravioli al tartufo (Raviolis with a truffle sauce), Agnello al forno (Baked lamb), Ossibuchi in umido (Braised marrowbone steak prepared in fresh cut tomatoes), Gnocchi tartufo e formaggio (Gnocchis - potato pasta- with a truffle and cheese sauce), tiramisu and panna cotta. The tiramisu was just a blob on the plate, but it was fantastic. Not too sweet, just right. The panna cotta with chocolate sauce was amazing. We had 5 different bottles of wine here, and all of them were very good. All less than 9 euros each! The same caliber of wines in such a fancy restaurant would easily cost more than $80/bottle in D.C. Thanks to our friends for taking us to this wonderful place, and for making sure we tried the Caprese Salad.
** Back home, I found a small gourmet market that sells 12-yr-old balsamic, a bit expensive, but worth it. Still looking for comparable fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese 
Updates: We found pretty good buffalo mozzarella cheese imported from Italy. Of course they are not freshly made like what we had, but it’ll have to do. I gave up on finding fresh tomatoes that are as sweet. Something has to do with the soil in the Mediterranean. Our recreated Caprese salad at home is a 7, compared to a 10 in San Gimignano.
2/3/12 - Found Roma tomatoes! Let me know if you’re in DC Metro area and would like to re-create this dish.