Rome: Two Days, One Giant Post

Unfortunately, I was not as consistent with my itinerary-keeping once we got to Rome. This will basically be a series of pictures & descriptions. We hired a car & driver for the day, so we could see as much as possible in the short time we had available. It was also extremely helpful to get a local perspective, see some out-of-the-way and less touristy things, and to get around because public transportation was not as readily available as it was in Paris.

This is the Triton Fountain in Piazza Barberini, which was about half a block from our hotel:


Our driver took us to the top of a hill just outside the city for the view, and took this picture for us:


Nuns everywhere! Jeff was somewhat disappointed that we did not see any Cardinals in full regalia.


The stinkiest place in Rome - where the kitties live!



Ruins of the Temple of Apollo:


Theatre of Marcellus:


Roman Forum ruins:



Statue of Marcus Aurelius by the Capitoline Museums (which we had to save for the next trip):


Circus Maximus, where chariot races were held:


Palatine Hill:


Saint Paul Basilica (not even listed in the guide book we have). They have portraits of all of the popes, with a light shining on the current pontiff:





Santa Maria Maggiore:



Piazza by the Pantheon, the Pantheon itself, and the tomb of Rafael:





This church contains the relics of the cross. Too bad it was closed both times we tried to visit:


Colosseum. The part that isn't as broken:


Arch of Constantine:


The large window in the center is the location from which Mussolini would address the crowds below:


Trevi Fountain, where I was the victim of a lecherous Charlie Chaplin:


The aqueduct where we ate gelato. How Italian is that?


Our hotel, with the phone-booth-sized shower:


Colosseum by night:


The only food picture I took - cheesecake surrounded with a creme de menthe fondant:


You'll just have to believe me, but this is us at the Vatican Museums:


A mosaic in the section devoted to early Christian art:


St. Peter's Basilica as seen from the Vatican Museums:


St. Peter's Square, shortly after the Wednesday Mass concluded:


Colosseum, ruins of the Roman Forum, and the Arch of Constantine:


Piazza Navonna, where we had dinner & gelato on our last night. Jeff mentioned something being really smooth, and I agreed, thinking he was talking about our waiter. He was talking about the wine.


Walking across the Tiber River, with St. Peter's Basilica in the background:


Castel Sant'Angelo (originally Hadrian's mausoleum):


Basilica:


The Church across from our hotel, Santa Maria della Concezione. It has a crypt as well, that is decorated with human bones.


Other places we went to, but no pictures from my camera (which was almost out of batteries):

• Piramid (moved block by block to Rome after it was "gifted" by the Egyptians)
• Catacombs of St. Calisto (closed just before we got there, so I missed out on all the possible catacombs on this trip)
• Drove the Appian Way
• City Wall & St. Sebastian's Gate
• St. Crose of Jerusalem
• Fonte Acqua Paola
• Piazzale a Garibaldi
• Justice Building
• Piazza del Popolo
• Piazza San Marco
• Trajan's Column
• San Giovanni Laterano
• Teatro dell'Opera
• Santa Maria degli Angeli
• Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

Now it's time to sleep!