We made it! We arrived last night and spent a few hours inside our shells with a bit of culture adjustment. We did manage to wander our neighborhood a bit which resulted in our first gaze at the ruins, some take-out food, a huge parade for Roma Pride, and gelato while listening to all the expressive talking of people hanging out in a random piazza at the end of our street. Oh yeah, and wandering upon the colloseum just sitting there around a corner. This place is one monumental piece of history on top of another.
We slept well, no noticeable jet lag (then again, we're both pretty good at sleeping). We found our place on Airbnb and are quite pleased with it. Smooth check-in, a huge welcome basket, very clean, and we can see columns from the forum from our window.