February 11

Day 42

Well, after a long, cold train ride (see previous post), we were glad to finally arrive in Rome.   Before we even got off the train, I could tell that Rome was going to be so completely different than anywhere I've ever been.  We'd be sitting on the train and I would notice that there were old Roman ruins that were random among the streets.  It was very cool to see.
We checked into our hotel, grabbed a bite to eat at a local restaurant (our first taste of Italian pizza) and then we walked to the Colosseum.

Different kind of ham on this pizza.

zucchini flowers... really were the blossoms.

Cute restaurant.  Loved how they don't plaster all the walls and allow the brick to still be seen.

Walking to the colosseum, we walked through this park, that had old ruins in them.

Very surreal.  I knew the Colosseum was big, but the sheer size of it surprised me.

Awesome location for a geocache!

The arch, the Forums and the Colosseum.

After touring around the Colosseum, we decided to head over to the Forums, after all, they were right next to each other.   Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the entrance was a couple blocks away and not easy to find.  By time we got to the Forums, they had closed their entrance gates.  Apparently, an hour before close, they don't let anyone in.  So, after some debate, we decided that we would just settle for walking above and looking from a distance rather than come back the next day.  

The tower had the  most intricate detail.  There's no way to capture all that we saw in person.

We continued on our way, exploring the streets of Rome.   One thing we've noticed about Italy, the driving is crazy.  No lines except a middle line.   Once again, so glad we're not driving here.  We then came to the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church.

The Vittoriano building looked like "Ceasar's Palace" in Las Vegas.

Look at the sheer size of it!

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church outside

Inside Santa Maria sopra minerva

A statue done by Michelangelo. 

Walking some more, we came to the Pantheon.  Very cool building.   Interesting feature, the hole in the ceiling, really is a hole and when it rains, the rain comes right inside.  So, when we arrived, it had rained earlier and the whole middle section of the Pantheon was closed off cause it was a big giant puddle.   Also, inside the Pantheon holds the tomb of Raphael, a famous artist.

The Pantheon

Domed ceiling and the open hole in the top

Tomb of Raphael

Inside of the Pantheon.

We headed over to Piazza Navona.  It was at this point that it started to pour rain.   POUR!  And the thunder and lightening was crazy too.  We took refuge in a store and looked around and when we saw that the rain wasn't going to stop any time soon, we found the nearest restaurant and stopped for dinner.   Dinner was fabulous!  And dessert... the best gelato we had in Italy!  Even though it was raining hard, we decided to eat outside under the awning.

Piazza Navona

The restaurant we ate dinner at.  We sat outside under the awning.

After dinner, we walked the streets in the rain.   All the regular street peddlers all come out and harass you and try to get you to buy their umbrellas... even though we clearly already had one.   We walked over and saw Trevi Fountains and then headed back to our hotel.  It had been a long day and we had done A LOT of walking, but it was a great day, even with the rain.

Even though it was still raining (lightly), there was still lots of people at Trevi Fountains.