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Published: July 11th 2011
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Today we woke up at 8:30 am. Our goal was to be showered and ready by 9:30 am, and amazingly enough, with four of us sharing one bathroom, we were all showered and dressed by 9:30! We went to a little bar just behind the house on via Giulia to have cappucini and cornetti and then began our exploration of the Rome.
We started first with the Pantheon. What an amazing structure! The girls put on a headset and listened to a Rick Steves podcast on the Pantheon. The dome for the Pantheon was the model for the Duomo in Florence, St Peter’s Basilica, and even the US Capital building. The oculus, or opening, at the top of the dome allowed in bright sunlight as practically the only lighting in the large temple.
Once we had listened to the tour and taken photos of the Piazza della Rotunda, we walked to the Coloseum. By this time, the sun was high in the sky and it was very hot, although not as hot as it was yesterday.
We walked through the back streets until we reached Largo Argentina . It was so hot out that the famous cats of
the Largo were all gone -- they were probably dozing in the shade! It was just amazing to see the ruins of the temple and small forum alongside the busy road next to it. Cars, buses and motorcycles race by the ruins constantly, while the broken temples below are testament to another busy era more than a thousand years ago.
From the Pizza Argentina, we continued our walk to the Roman Forum and Coloseum. It was a long, hot walk, but incredibly rewarding. I think the girls really enjoyed being able to see the juxtaposition of the ancient past with modern urban life. We took tons of photographs, mainly of the girls posed in front of various sights.
By now we were getting hungry and very hot. We walked over to the Fontana di Trevi, tossed in a few coins, and got lunch. The girls were so tired that they wanted to sleep right at the table. (I love it that even though I am over 50, I can still wear out three teenaged girls!)
I relented and instead of walking home, I sprung for a taxi to the house.
Once home we honored the Italian tradition
of a daily siesta, and we all slept for about an hour and a half!
When we woke up, refreshed and ready for more action, we headed out to Piazza di Spagna. And yes, we walked there again, following our artistic (but not always accurate) map.
We met Stefania at the Piazza di Spagna, and while Stefania and I shopped a bit, the girls got a cool drink and wandered around on their own. We met up again at 7:30 and went to dinner at Al Moro, a famous Roman restaurant near the Fontana di Trevi. We had a delicious dinner then walked behind the Piazza del Parlimento to get a gelato at a place that is very famous, but I cannot remember the name. It was FANTASTIC. Then we walked back to Piazza Navona again (home base). I allowed the girls to wander around on their own while I came back to the apartment to write in this journal.
The girls are knocking on the door now and I am hoping to get an Internet connection to upload this journal. Tomorrow, we’ll be off to the Vatican!
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Donna Schmidt
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Thank you for the update!
Wow! the travel blog is great! beautiful photos!