The Colosseum, or "Flavium Amphitheatre" has 5 million visitors per year and one bathroom. Not kidding - that's a fact. Rome has 4 million residents and 2 million cars sharing 150 parking spots. Not really fact but it seems that way.
Guess which cars are parked
I can't say that I'm a big fan of Rome. Sure, there is a fountain or a church or a Roman masterpiece around every corner, but the place is a poorly organized garbage dump. I don't mean the streets are not organized because that's part of old city charm - it's the lack of garbages, tourist signage, pedestrian streets, etc. I can't count how many times our little gaggle of engineers started a sentence with: "Why don't they…(insert ridiculously simple solution to eliminating lineup at this monument)". The signage at all the monuments is so poor that there is an entire industry built up to take advantage of tourists gawking around looking for an entrance to the Colosseum. There are so many illegal souvenir vendors working these streets that Maersk brings in a dedicated container ship every night to restock from China. Selfie sticks are big this year along with Pope bobble-heads, painted tiles, plastic monument replicas, toy Vespas, jelly blob things, people with white paint standing still and even a guy with a puppy that wants money if you pet it.
The windows are drafty and the insulation is poor.
This lineup to St. Peter's Basilica is 2 hours long. You don't even get to meet the Pope at the end.
We came back minutes before quitting time to grab a quick run-around with no lineups. God shone some light.
There are no public bathrooms in Rome. If you see a toilet, you get in line and have a pee even if you don't have to go because there may not be another chance. Do not have a pint of beer for lunch! (It took me three days to figure that one out).
Mette is just pointing out where she had a pee.
There is a joke that goes something like this: "45% of the world's UNESCO Heritage sites are in Italy; the rest are protected". The Italian gov't cannot afford to look after all the churches and fountains and ancient Roman ruins so they are now selling advertising to companies in exchange for repairs and maintenance work. They recently received 25 million euros from a rich luxury fashion businessman to clean up and repair the Colosseum. Similar agreements have been made to repair the Tevi fountain (Rome) and the Rialto Bridge (Venice). Can you imagine how outraged we would be if someone wanted to put advertising on the West Edmonton Mall?!?!?!
Tom is outraged. The Pantheon has a hole in the roof and it leaks.
Despite all my griping, we had a fun time in Rome. We walked a lot of miles and experienced a lot of great food and awesome sights. It's one of the most interesting places on earth.
Just remember, when you're a pedestrian in Rome, don't wait for those cars that are lined up in the right lane of the busy street - they are parked! Honk your horn if you're not happy!!
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