A Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Forum

We had planned to go to the Vatican today but it was a special day with Pope Francis in St Peters Square. We went to the Forum instead.

On the way we purchased our train tickets for tomorrow as we are off to Sienna.
Our first stop was the Colosseum. You get off the train and there it is! A few photos tell the story,

Gail and Rob from the upper level. Hadrian's Gate is in the background

                                                           Inside the Colosseum

Outside the Colosseum there  was political protest. Rob joined just for the side benefits of free kisses . Now we are starting to understand the difference between Australian elections and the EU vote.

We walked up through the forum as we wanted to see the new sections that had been renovated.
The Santa Marie Antiqua is open for a few months prior to further excavations. There is a wonderful collection of frescoes along with great views.

                                                          Fresco at the old church

There was also an excellent electronic display depicting what the frescoes looked like in their prime

We went up to a special view point above the church that was just below Palatine Hill for wonderful views over the Forum.

                                      Back down we looked at the statues. This was the only one who had a head.

                                               Up close and distant sections of columns

We had a very late lunch of gelato and still managed to fit in a siesta and a Sunday night dinner of pizza