We've seen Roma

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we are here! one delay - in omaha no less. beautiful weather like nebraska, 33 Celcius. the first day we did an audio tour of the Coliseum and learned lots. even al was impressed. the history & the engineering are most impressive. according to the pedometer we walked 20000 steps. i don't think so. still it was a lot of steps.

that was wednesday. thursday we had the tour of the Vatican museums & st peter's. wewalked to the meeting point via the piazza di spagna (spanish plaza) and the pantheon. I even managed to find my way, with the map, and didn't get lost once! i am glad paula mentioned she wanted to see the spanish steps-so we did. came at them from above by the church instead of below and walking up. LOTS of steps. the pantheon, temple to all gods, was just a few blocks away. you should have seen al's face light up & his jaw drop as we came around the corner & there it was. the most in tact building of ancient rome because the Church took it over very early in Christianity's history. it is indeed a church and mass is held each sunday. can't remember all the details.

lunch was paninis from a street vendor as we walked to the meeting point by the vatican. the tour was very informative and the guide delightful, knowledgeable and helpful. British but living in rome for 10 years. so much info - so little time. needless to say, the sistine chapel and st peter's were the highlights.

around 5 we made it to castel sant' angelo. first a mausoleum, then a papal residence, a fort and a prison. now a museum. more walking more stairs, more spectacular views. from the top terrace you can see the coliseum on one side and the 1960 olympic stadium on the other. both arenas. how unique.

i did get us sort of lost on the way to the trevi fountain but al helped. it was also on paula's list. i am always amazed at the numbers of people at the fountain. it is a popular meeting place.

supper was a tourist menu at a small cafe. everyone wanted to try it and it was a success.

thus endeth the second day in rome. friday we are off to pompeii. this time i will get a map and go in the correct entrance. propably get more out of it that way.

ciao!!

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