Piscean Chronicles: Chasing Ruins in EATaly

Owing to the fact that hubby and I are captivated by ancient structures, and that a week cannot go by without having pasta, pizza or risotto, we included a visit to Italy during our first and second travel to Europe. We went to Rome in spring and Venice in winter. Whether it's toasty hot, rainy or freezing, there are so many things to do in Italy!

ROME, ITALY (Spring)

1. Visit ancient ruins

When I misspelled Colosseo (70-80AD) in a provincial quiz bee in the late 80s, I swore to myself that I will visit it someday to find out what the fuss is about and why it is included in history books. 23 years later, I stood in front of this magnificent structure and would encourage everyone to visit it in their lifetime despite its gory past.

Close to the Colosseo is the Arch of Constantine (315AD)...

the Imperial Fora, including Trajan's Forum (106-112AD), the last of the Imperial Fora constructed in ancient Rome...

and the Forum of Caesar (46BC). Spare some Euros to visit Julius Caesar's grave inside the foro.

Amidst modern buildings, you will also find other ruins such as the Largo di Torre Argentina (4th-5th century BC) that housed four Roman temples, including Pompeii's theater.

Instead of traveling to Pompeii, we visited the harbor city of ancient Rome, Ostia Antica (620 BC). Travel for less than an hour from Ostiense and you will see a vast area of ruins of old houses, bath houses, temples, theater and other structures reflecting the daily life of working class people.

Make sure you empty your bladder before buying tickets and entering the site since it would take about 30 mins before reaching the rest rooms, not to mention the long queue. Otherwise you will end up with a companion sulking and walking 20 meters ahead of you.

Before you go back to the train station you may want to check out Castello di Giulio II, a medieval castle situated close to Ostia Antica's ticket booth.

As you reach Ostiense in Rome, you can also check out the Pyramid of Cestius built in 12BC and a few steps from it, the Porta San Sebastiano (275 AD).

Don't miss the ancient building, Pantheon, built in 126 AD, when in the capital.

2. Vatican City

Visit the smallest independent state in the world!

I wanted to see Michel Angelo's painting but I didn't have the patience to join the queue as long as this:

Beyond the walls of St. Peter's Basilica, you will find Castel Sant' Angelo (135AD):

Tiber River, and

Piazza Cavour (1885).

3. Other Landmarks

Make sure to visit other attractions in Rome such as the Spanish Steps (1725),

Trevi Fountain (1762),

and the Altar of the Fatherland, built in honor of Vittorio Emanuele II (1925) .

4. Mangiare...

la pasta...

ravioli...

tortellini, and

risotto...

We didn't have the best pizza but these were ok.

Have some gelato to cool down your system while strolling under the sun, or..

sip a cup of cappuccino on a rainy day.

Go to the nearest supermarket to check out fruits in season, wine, olives and prosciutto for your evening snack :)

5. Listen to Radio Capital

If you happen to stay in a hotel without English channels, and you are from the 60's 70's and 80's generation, look this up on the cable selection. It plays English songs from those years and will certainly take you back to your childhood days. The good thing is it is also available online (tivu) so you can tune in anytime if you want to reminisce your Italian sojourn.