Day 02: Rome - Brandon Flowers in Concert

After a good night's sleep, I awoke around 7:30am. Breakfast at the hotel is very basic but I made the most of it. I had no real plans so I decided that I was just going to wander and see where I ended up.

Day time view from my hotel window.

I walked around the outside of Castel Sant' Angelo which was originally a mausoleum built by Emperor Hadrian and burial ground for Roman emperors from about 130AD before being resigned as a fort that was part of Emperor Aurelian's city wall. To complete my Angels and Demons moment, I crossed the Tiber via the Ponte Sant' Angelo.

Me with Castel Sant' Angelo in the background...

Walking up the Corso Vittorio Emanuele I arrived at Pizza Venezia and the white marble structure (that most locals apparently loathe if you believe the guide books) known as the Il Vittoriano built by King Victor Emmanuel in the early 1900's.  It is massive.

Next it was onto the Colosseum & the Roman Forum. I originally hadn't planned to go into the Colosseum as mum & I did it last year and I'm scheduled to do it a night on Saturday 16th, but given my entry ticket for the Forum also included this, I thought why not. The wind picked up and we even got a little bit of rain, but it was also over pretty quickly. I managed to get up to the first level, which I hadn't gotten to during my previous visit.

After leaving the Colosseum I spent a fair bit of time wandering around the sprawling complex of the Palatine Hill and the forum was pretty amazing, given this was the heart of Rome and the home of western civilization.

Around 2pm I finally grabbed some lunch before heading off to find the Pantheon. When mum & I were here last year, it had already closed for the day, so it was great to be able to go inside and see this massive structure which was has been standing from approx. 118-125AD.

 

Next up was Piazza Navona and the first gelato of my trip – mint. I was able to sit and relax for a little while as it had been a big walking day and my feet are pretty sore.

 

From here I walked back to the hotel via the Ponte Sant' Angelo.  I've got no idea how far I walked, but it was a pretty decent distance.

My favorite Angel on the Ponte Sant' Angelo.

Tonight I attended a concert at the Ciricolo Degli Artisiti by Brandon Flowers the lead singer of “The Killers”. I'd only discovered this was on a few weeks before I left and I was really pleased I went along. It was a small yet enthusiastic crowd and a great concert, even though it started at 10pm. I was really happy that I made the effort to get there.

 

 

SETLIST:
On the Floor
Crossfire
Magdalena
Bette Davis Eyes (cover)
Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts
Right Behind You
Was It Something I Said?
Hard Enough
Losing Touch (cover)
Swallow It
Only the Young
Playing With Fire

Encore:
The Clock Was Tickin'
When You Were Young (cover)