If yesterday was overwhelming, today was evening more so.
We took the fast train from Florence to Rome (1.5 hours), except we missed the 8:14 train and the next 2 were full (or so we were told) so we didn't get down until almost 11:30.
We hopped on a double-decker tour bus--it turns out there are at least half a dozen competing companies, although we didn't realize it-- thinking, correctly, that would be the easiest way to see the major sights of the city. We didn't have the time or energy to invest in several museums, and skipped the Vatican entirely except as a drive-by.
Rome is easily as overwhelming as Paris, London, or Washington, a cultural and political capitol. Only here the culture goes back well over 2000 years. It's amazing how much of it is crammed into the central area, behind the Piazza Venetia, itself dominated by a huge monumental structure.
Behind this is the Roman fora, the Palatine hill, and of course the Colliseum. The sun was brutal, the lines more so. We skipped the long lines into the Colliseum and walked around the archaeological ruins of the Roman fora (I only show a few of the 100 pictures I took), but the heat and uneven ground was tiring, so after an hour we returned to the bus.
We saw such sights as St. Peter's basilica at Vatican City, although we did not get off, and we did get off for a while, walked by the famous Trevi Fountain (I did not toss a coin in because I would have likely hit someone), had a light meal, and went onto the Pantheon.
We were pretty tired by that point, so back on the tour bus, finished up around Rome, and then a quick train ride back to Florence, which despite the masses of tourists feels less intense than Rome.
We'll have an easy day on Thursday, and then fly to Munich on Friday.
