Ok, it’s day 2 of our travels, having survived the potential loss of my iPad Yesterday, I’m glad to say that I made the flight, out of breath, sweating like a monster out of a Dr Seuss book with seconds remaining on the clock before the gate closed.  I was both relieved, out of breath and sweating like Mr Creosote when I finally slumped in my seat.  Now that’s some imagery you didn’t want reading this 😉

Landing in Fiumicino Airport, it was time to flag down a Taxi ride to our accommodation and unpack.  By this point it’s getting late, so time to find the nearest Pizzeria and get some sleep…

Morning… It’s time to hit the streets.  You may have guessed from the picture above I’m in Rome.  

I’m both in awe and inspired!  There’s so much to see and visit in Rome, that you can’t fit it all in over a weekend!  So I’ll have to do a whistle stop tour and cover off the main tourist highlights.

The Colosseum is a huge attraction with the tourists, and I’m not surprised, it really is an amazing feat of engineering and construction, I only wish we made buildings today that could stand the test of time…

If you are planning on visiting the Colosseum, when you arrive you can’t miss the unmistakeable huge queue of people waiting to get in, in fact, the queue was taking around 90 minutes of wait time before you get to the ticketing booth (subject to the time of year).  No one really likes queuing, expect… maybe the British who would turn this into an Olympic sporting event if we could… (Nope, I think we did in 2012? 🙂

If like me, you’re impatient and want to jump the queue’s, there are options available.  

1. You could (and I certainly don’t recommend this) scale/jump the fencing and get in, risk getting caught and that won’t be pleasant for all concerned…
2. Pay for a scheduled tour with one of the many operators and guides in Rome for a modest fee, these tour operators have the tickets that allow you to queue jump.  Prices will vary depending on the types of tour you are looking for, but usually involve a guided tour.
3. Or use this simple little tip I’m going to share with you below.

Now this queue busting technique is the quickest option I’ve found, and credit has to go to a pensioner from Halifax.  Simply walk a few hundred meters to the Aqueduct (always makes me think of Monty Python) and on the other side you’ll see an entrance to the Palatine.  There’s generally little to no queue here.  From here you can purchase a ticket that gives you entrance to both the Palatine and the Colosseum for €12 (full adult price) concessions are available for OAP’s and children.  You can either turn and leave, walk back to the Colosseum, walk past the 90 minute queue of people, scan your ticket and walk straight in, or enjoy the Palatine.

Now how’s that for a queue busting tip?  Of course this only works because relatively few people know about it, now that you know and word gets out, the queue to the Palatine will increase, when that happens, hopefully the Colosseum queue will be shorter 🙂

Personally I found that you could easily spend half a day walking around the Palatine and the Colosseum, especially if you are covering off the catacombs, and the high points so if you aren’t doing the whistle stop tour, then certainly take the time to take photo’s and take in the history.
 

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