Rome part 2

Hello, welcome back!
Part 2 is about the part of Rome everyone comes to see, the Colloseum and the area around it.
I'm going to start off with a rather controversial opinion. The colloseum? Over rated. In between being shoved left right and centre by hords of tourists and the like, the building is surprisingly uninspiring. I don't know if maybe I had seen so many pictures of it, videos and read so much about it that it was an anti climax, but it really failed to impress me. I don't think being stood in the que to get in for half an hour particularly helped either.  The building is a feat of engineering, it really is, and you can  still see some really intricate details, particularly the carved numerials above each arch.

But don't fear, your combined ticket also gets you into the Palatine hill and the roman forum. Now this is where stuff gets really interesting. Aside from a small but fast que to get in (besieged by beggars and strange men who pretend to have just had a child, in order to guilt trip you into buying bangles, yes they did get us!) you are free to explore at mostly your own place, with only the museum and the area around the entrance clogged with visitors. The Palace is of particular note, a huge sprawling entity, even though it has lost its beautiful marbles and decorations, it still commands your attention, just as it did back then.

The roman forum is literally one huge archaeological puzzle. Think of Jenga mixed with scrabble and monopoly and you've got a rough idea! But it's incredible. Just the first view takes your breath away, all around you stand the ruins of the place where the Romans made the plans to conquer the world. 

But, I've least the most sensational til last. The Basillica Nova, to me, the greatest building ever built by the Romans and cruelly ignored by most. The thing is huge, and I mean huge, even though only a third (or more of a quater) is left, it still left me in awe. I think James we getting annoyed that I kept going on about it for the rest of the day! The shameful thing is, not a great deal is known about it, and nobody can really say much for it either. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.