On the roam in Rome

We're back!
Well yesterday (Friday) we walked all over Rome. It was about 90 degrees, so it was a very sweaty day. We woke up to our routine Italian breakfast...cappuccino, yogurt with musli (granola) and croissants. Collette and Theresa love Nutella on their croissants. Then we were off to the Colosseum. We decided to take the subway, which is notorius for pickpockets. No problemo for us. The guys got a tip to use a rubber band around their wallets so that it is not so easy to get out of their pockets. Too bad for girls, less trinkets. Ha! Just kidding!

We used our Roma passes at the Colosseum and went right to the front of the line (sure saved us lots of time not having to wait in the long line!). The Colosseum is huge. It is so hard to imagine how they could do this way back then. It its day, it was covered in marble. You can see where the marble was removed (where it was taken to be used at the Vatican).

Then we went through Palentine Hill, the birthplace of Rome and the home to Roman royalty. The shade there felt so good. They were getting ready for a jazz concert, so we were able to overlook the Roman Forum and listen to some very cool music. The Forum is amazing. The original stone road is still there. Think about it, the same roads that Jesus, Cesaer Augustus, and Nero all walked on. We even stood below the temple where Nero played music while Rome burning.

We ended up at the Pantheon for a rest break, photos at the fountain and then off for a tour of the Pantheon.

Next up, Piazza Novona, where it was time for more wine. We bought some beautiful paintings that reminded us of Tuscany. We also had the famous Tartufo (chocolate ice cream ball) from Tre Scalini, an outdoor cafe in the piazza. Since we were near we watched the sun go down at the Spanish Steps. Beautiful! We had dinner nearby. By the way if you ask us over for dinner when we get home, we prefer not to have pasta or pizza.


Tomorrow, we're off to Venice. We'll be able to update you on the train ride as we'll be riding for five hours.


Ciao for now.
Tom, Theresa, Tino & Collette