Roman Holiday

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Hello! We have been in Rome for 2 days now and we have packed as much as we could into both of them. Yesterday, we began the day by trying to figure out where the breakfast was at the bed and breakfast. Eventually, it showed up and we were able to get out the door a little later than we hoped. We arrived at the Colloseum where there was a bit of a line forming but we made it to the ticket counter within about 15 minutes. We took the guided tour which was a little more of a history lesson than a tour. It turns out the building is a circle of seats....not to much to tour. It was still pretty interesting and we spent a few hours checking it out. After some lunch, we headed to the Roman Forum to tour the ruins of the market, Julius Caesar's temple and burial place, the speaker's corner, the senate...to name a few. It was getting pretty hot, so we decided to spend the afternoon in the Capitol Hill Museum which has tons of Roman sculpture and bronze statues. We saw Constantine's giant head and hand and Marcus Aurelius. We wandered to the Pantheon to see the big dome with the hole in the top and sat for a drink at the Mcdonalds patio that faces it (the best view in town!). In the evening, we strolled through Rome to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Phil had to do some quick figuring because the metro shut down for the night. He found us a bus that got us to within a few blocks of the b & b....good one Phil!

Today, we took in the Vatican sights. The line ups were absolutely unbelievable but they moved pretty quickly. We took in St. Peter's and climbed the steps to the top (about 550 steps this time...the most yet!) It was a nice view from there but very hot! Fortunately they sell ice cream up there....too funny. After some lunch we got in the line for the Sistine Chapel which goes out the door, down the block, around the corner, and down the street....not short. We managed to get in and see Raphael's School of Athens and the Sistine Chapel ceiling but the guards were herding us out of the chapel as we were still looking up.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a short train trip out of the city to see some ruins at Ostia Antica. Thanks for all the comments you guys send. We love reading them. (Thanks for sending the baby pictures too Becky and Dan)

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Photos

Trevi Fountain
After a really long day...