Rome, Italy (Palatine Hill and Roman Forum)

If you think after literally walking around Rome all morning we would be too tired to walk up one of it's most famous hills...you severely underestimate my role as a tour guide.

(They were really hating me at this point, lol!)

Suck it up, buttercup...we've got sites to see and memories to make!

"Palatine Hill is the centermost of the famous seven hills of Rome.  Located in between attractions such as Circus Maximus, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum...the hill has a strong link to Roman mythology.  It is believed that on Palatine Hill, the twins Romulus and Remus were found in the Lupercal Cave by their four-legged shepherd mother, who raised them.  Ultimately, this is where Romulus decided to build the city.  Therefore, it is on this hill that the Roman Empire began..."

The kids had fun because they could run around and play pretty much wherever they wanted!  There is a ton of history here, and even though things were pretty well marked and we had a guide book, I think it would have been more interesting for the adults to have had a guide for the hill (especially so had we gone down into the Roman Forum).

The top of the hill was well worth the view though! And, as you walk down past the Farnese Gardens (the first private botanical gardens in Europe) you get an overlook of the Roman Forum down below...

The Roman Forum was really impressive.  It's hard to believe that those broken pieces of marble used to be the center of Roman public life!  (At this point we were too hot and tired to walk down into the Forum itself so we headed straight back to our hotel for a much needed late afternoon nap). 

Little tour guides in the making!

For dinner we ate a nearby outdoor cafe...it was really yummy...except for the fact that the poor shrimp in the risotto still had eyes!  Agh!  

They loved their Rome flip-book!

 

We were able to see A LOT of Rome in one day!  And, although the day didn't go as planned, we were really happy with the results (well, maybe not our worn-out legs)! Only one more thing to see before we leave Rome...the National Museum!