Day 8 - Rome - The Colosseum

A tour of the Colosseum - we booked a specialised kids tour so that it would capture the kids and it was age ranged for 7 - 12 year olds - perfect! We arrived and quickly signed in and pretty soon we were off.  The Colosseum was cool, however after spending time at both the Arles and Nimes amphitheaters in France, this was actually a little disappointing for all of us.  The arenas in both Arles and Nimes have been restored and we went to an event in Arles and it was amazing.    Still, the colosseum is much more famous and so we were looking forward to hearing all about it!  The guide was good, however didn't really capture the kids attention - she talked about being a princess and how great this was which enthralled the girls but the boys not so much.  Lachlan had done a powerpoint project on the colesseum and so he and Connor both had some knowledge however the statistics and details that our boys are so keen on were not really part of the tour.  There were however some gladiator stories that had them interested and it was great just to wander around the colesseum and imagine events taking place there.  

The boys ready for action -

Our tour group with our tour leader in the red tank

The family shot amongst the crowds.

Karlos looking groovy

Some fo the underground sections..............

The crowns the kids were given - Connor thought it was pretty cool - Lachlan not so much!

But he did let me take a picture -

Time to move on now to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Connor will find sand to draw in anywhere.........................fun times

This was our last activity in Rome.  We had a fab time in Rome and certainly did some walking usually about 20,000 steps per day - great sights and a busy few days - now time for Venice and some chill time and wandering!

Day 8 - Rome - Gladiator School

Gladiator School

Today we were up  bright and early and heading for Gladiator School.  We flagged down a taxi and we were off and 10 euros later we were there! Fab – and the drive took us past the colleseum and lots of other ruins and cattacombs.

There were only 5 people in our class, our three boys and a mum and her 9 year old son – perfect.

Our gladiator trainer was “stacked” – he is a professional fighter and trained in many marshall arts.  Lachlan said he looked like the terminator or the hulk!

The training started in the museum where he talked about life as a roman soldier and how they fought and then gladiators and how they fought and the difference between the slaves and the gladiators and how slaves could fight for their freedom and later could become gladiators.  He talked about the different weapons and techniques and also reminded everyone that their best weapon was their “brain”.  Connor got a little bored with the talking, as did the other boy – but the adults and Loki were captivated.

 It was then time to head outside – wahoo – this is what the boys (all of them) had come for.  First off, they changed into their gladiator attire and once suitably dressed they began their training – ducking and diving; running, jumping, dodging and weaving and push-ups – great to watch! After a few exercises it was time for  water break! Whew! Then they were given swords and shown (and practiced) five set moves……….head, neck, leg, otherside and stomach

Karl was used as a guinea pig quite often and this was hilarious – well, for me, anyway – he even got his nipples pinched – this was ubber funny and he could not believe the trainer actually did it!  

Gladiator school was well worth the money just for this!  He also got Karl “dancing” by inflicting pain in different areas – again – hilarious!  He also managed to put our two boys (and the other one) in their place when they thought they could take him on or had better moves that they had seen on tv/movies or read in books. 

After practice the team were ready to duel! This again was the part they were waiting for.  Our trainer was the ref and each participant was trying to get 5 points, they were penalised for hitting in the head or face………… Connor and Lachlan were first up with Lachlan being victorious 5-3; Lachlan vs Nico 5-4 to Lachlan; Connor vs Nico 5-4 to Nico and then Dad vs Lachlan 5-4 to dad (thankfully) and then Dad vs Connor, 5-3 to dad.  The boys did not want to stop and had a few more un-reffed battles. 

The participants were then awarded their certificates and are now certified gladiators.

We were going to catch a taxi home, but our other gladiators were going for a walk through some ancient streets and then catching the bus and so we tagged along with them for a while and then caught a local bus 118 back to the Colosseum and walked home from there.  Rome is such an interesting city, there are sights around every corner and there is so much to see. 

We chilled out briefly at the hotel before heading off for lunch and a little shopping before we headed down to the Colosseum for our tour. 

Day 7 - Exploring Rome in the evening

Late this afternoon we decided to head out for a stroll - our ultimate location was a restaurant that Dean and Emma had recommended........................this picture below was a little random - but cool

As we were walking the boys had their first glimpse of the Colosseum - there were whoops and jumps for joy - it was so cool to see their excitement.  Loki had done a power-point and both boys were looking forward to exploring it and hearing about it on our tour tomorrow.

We then continued on our travels heading to the pantheon and then wandered across through Piazza Novona which was very cool with entertainers, music and artists and then on to our restaurant.

We also came across this amazing building = The 'Altar of the Fatherland' (Altare della Patria) is the largest national monument in Italy. The monument was originally designed to commemorate King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy. He was the first king of Italy and was known as the 'Gentleman King' and the 'Father of the Nation'. 

The 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier' was added on November 4th, 1921. 

There are some great views -

We then continued onto our restaurant for the night - Taverna and Vineria - best food so far in Italy.





After dinner we caught a taxi home - taxis are very cheap in Italy compared to France - yay!

Day 7 - Exploring Rome - Magnum shop and Spanish steps

We got to the magnum store and wow – definitely worth a visit! Check out our creations………..delish……..more walking needed! Connor said “best magnum ever” and we all agreed!  You got to choose the flavour of your ice-cream, your chocolate coating and three toppings - hard to choose! 

Some of the topping choices..................

Karl's finished product - brownie, coconut and

Loki went for cinnamon biscuit, white chocolate and popping candy

Connor had popping candy, brownie and chocolate (he was the only one to have chocolate ice-cream)

And I had brownie, m&ms and flower petals

A huge tick from the Fraser family

The store -

We then walked past the “expensive shopping area” and I mean walked past as Karl would not let me enter so sorry guys I am not returning with any goods from Prada, Tiffany’s, Jimmy Choo or Gucci – bugger!  Anyway, we made it to the Spanish Steps and they were pretty impressive and although I knew that they were under repair that boys appeared quite shocked and were a bit disappointed – oh well!  Took some photos and recalled some of the things Connor had researched – as again he had done a power point on the Spanish Steps as he wanted to know “why there were Spanish Steps in Italy when there were already lots of steps in Spain” – anyway, will post his power point to let you all know the answer to his question!

We then began to head toward home and found a great little lunch spot – great range of food which made all of us very happy.  I got a great Italian drink -  Aperol spritz – which contains aperol, sparkling wine and soda water – delish!

We then took the long way home via Republica and the planetarium to chill out a little before we go out exploring a little later.