The Pantheon did not disappoint! It's so imposing and incredible.
Raphael's tomb
Laura in the spotlight
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Osteria di Mario
Lunch after the Colosseum was recommended by good ole Rick Steves. We were looking for a place near the Pantheon because we hadn't gotten to look inside last time we came by. To get here, we had an adventure with a bus that never showed up and a ride on a surprise bus that luckily took us to just the right place. You just never know in Rome!
Mario's was in this hidden little square. There was a tiny food and flower market just behind and a water fountain to fill our bottles. Lovely!
This guy never eats spaghetti!
And of course, she loved it too.
il Colosseo
And we found the Colosseum just across the street. This one was much easier to appreciate - much bigger WOW factor!
Getting the tickets was an adventure, as usual. I was feeling so proud in this picture!
Very steep stairs. We went up some just like this.
It's big, it's awesome, it's colossal
The Forum
Tuesday started at the Forum. It was challenging to get into it at first. The podcast tour I downloaded was a bust, neither books I brought worked out for us, and there aren't many informative signs. But as the time went along, we got a little more interested and used a little more imagination.
This is the column from which they measured every distance to Rome.
This is the Umbilicus Urbis (belly button of the world)
Roman poppies
Deep thoughts
This is where we eat breakfast every morning. Love the little orange head peeking out of my oh-so-serious contemplating
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Sunday evening - Heart of Rome walk
In the evening on Sunday, we went on the long-anticipated "Heart of Rome" walk, as instructed by Rick Steves. He's been a great tour guide so far! It was a perfect evening, and we saw lots of things on our list and many extras too.
These pictures are out of order, but are all from the same walk. Its about a mile long and took us from about 5-10:30 including bus/metro time to and from the hotel and dinner. We're living on Roman time now (i.e. slow and relaxed)
Trevi fountain was gorgeous and enormous, but ridiculously crowded. We all took our turn throwing our coins in over our shoulder and kept moving.
The Spanish Steps were surprisingly one of my favorites. I expected this to be boring and I think Jim and Adam were glad to sit, but not really entertained. Laura and I could have stayed for hours, watching people and this cute sunken ship fountain at the bottom. This was at the end of the walk and getting dark. So much ambiance!
Going to and from our hotel, we often have to go through the ancient city walls, which we call the Ball Wall because it has the coat of arms with what looks like 6 tennis balls. We looked it up and and they don't know the real origin of the balls, which appeals to us . We like to come up with random ideas why that Pope chose balls.
At the Piazza Navona, there is a fountain with 4 river gods. Jim is high-fiving the Danube from Uruguay in this picture.
We had our best dinner yet on this square, sitting outside, everyone loving their meal. Jim ordered a group of appetizers, Laura had tortellini in broth, Adam had Margarita pizza, me with cecio e pepe (a very simply, delicious plate of noodles with Parmesan cheese sauce and pepper), and Jim got a Negroni (a cocktail he often has at home that is actually Italian), and me a spritz, (a true Roman traditional early evening drink).
This fountain was a favorite of all of ours. The kids were able to get up and explore while we waited for the food and they liked this guy, the Plata river in Uruguay, especially the birds perched on his head.
Another terrible pic of Trevi fountain. Honestly, I think the crowds ruined it for me.
More Ball Wall
I forgot to post this in the Castel Sant'Angelo post. This is Laura being Pope-ly. These are rooms that were used to protect the Pope when he was under attack centuries ago. He built an escape route from the Vatican all the way to the castle and had to use it more than once. There's every chance that a real Pope actually sat on that seat.
More Spanish steps
Adam at Trevi Fountain
This magician/performer stopped his show as we walked by to beckon Adam over, then grabbed him gently by the orange hair and made silly eyes. It was great. He was really entertaining and we stayed for the whole show. This is the same square as dinner and the Four Rivers Fountain, one of our favorite spots so far.
We drink a lot of water. Lots of it comes from the water fountains always flowing around the city.
Me at Trevi
Spanish steps
Laura at Trevi
And I've given this obelisk to Aunt Kim. It was actually brought back from Egypt after Augustus beat Marc Antony and Cleopatra, but I think Kim deserves it.
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