A Day in Rome

We spent Sunday, October 30th, 2011 in Rome, Italy.  It was a good day!

We started our day outside our hotel at about 0845.  The family tolerated my request for a picture to start the day.  Little did they know.

Addy in front of Trajan's markets.  The tower in the background doesn't lean as much as the one in Pisa, but I wouldn't want to live downhill from it.  

Me at Trajan's column.  The column is really cool.  It's a continuous spiral from the bottom all the way to the top.  We couldn't imagine how much effort went into carving it.

Caesar's Forum (we think) at the base of Trajan's column.

Izzy at Caesar's Forum.  The sun was bright, so we were trying to time it so she would look up as the camera took the picture.  We just missed it, but it's not a bad shot.

This was in front of the Vittorio Immanuele monument.  It seemed typically Italian, whatever that means.

The gates were locked!  Curses!  It's cool, though.  We had cooler things to go see.  Our tour guide later told us that the view from the top of this monument is her favorite in Rome because it's the one spot in Rome where you don't look at that monument.

Karen taking a picture of the kids in front of the Forum, or at least a small part of the Forum.

The picture she took.  Whoa...

Another typically Italian moment, I guess.

The Fora--'cuz the Forum isn't actually one Forum but rather a whole bunch of Fora built over hundreds of years by different people.  Who knew?  That said, I shall not be calling it the Fora.  I shall be calling it the Forum.  'Cuz that's what I've always called it and Fora sounds pretentious.  So there.

While trying to find the damn entrance to the damn Forum, we stumbled across this great farmer's market at the Circus Maximus.  We bought some brand new, unfiltered olive oil--the olives had been harvested and pressed that week--and just wandered for a bit.  It was cool.

And the kids got gelato, so that was nice.

Addy thirsty!

As we headed toward the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum, there was a Fiat 500 rally.  It was pretty cool.

Toy car!  I wanted to get in but didn't have the balls to ask if I could.  Everyone looked a little into their cars.

The Colosseum.

The part of the Colosseum that would have been under the stage.  Storage for gladiators, lions, and whatnot.

The family at the Colosseum.  No lions to throw them to, so I decided to keep them.  

The Colosseum.

Addy and Izzy in front of the Arch of Constantine, as taken from the Colosseum.

Addy and Izzy at the Colosseum

My art shot at the Colosseum.  Meh.

Ordering lunch for the family.  

The family eating lunch.  Notice the quality of the meal!

I saw many statues during the week, including Michaelangelo's David.  This...by far my favorite.  Not even close.

This is a view of Rome as seen from the Palatine Hill.  Saint Peter's Basilica is the large dome in the distance.  It kind of drives home the idea of Rome as the Eternal City.  We were standing on a place that was first settled in 1000 BC, went on to become the predominant city in the Western World, had a bit of a decline, and we're seeing in the distance the center of the Catholic church, arguably the most important, or at least the most impactful, organization of the last millennium.  Pretty heavy stuff!

The Forum, as seen from the Palatine Hill

Forum.  Not sure whose.  I have a book that could tell me, but it's by the front door.  Can't be bothered.  I could make something up, though.  Let's see...this was Emperor Frankie's Forum.  The central arch is in memory of his wife, Suzy, and the other two are for his favorite mistresses/concubines.  It was a long time ago.

Remember the Leaning Tower of Trajan's Market from earlier?  That's it.

The Colosseum, as seen from the Palatine Hill, with the Forum in between.

Addy and Izzy at the Forum

Addy and Izzy on the Via dei Fori Imperiali.  Couple of interesting tidbits here.  Mussolini wanted a road on which he could show off his armies before said armies went off to conquer the powerhouses of Ethiopia and Eritrea.  Or something like that.  Regardless, he drew a straight line from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum and had himself built a road.  Never mind that in the process he either dug out or covered a huge chunk of the Forum.  There are apparently archaeologists who still have nightmares about the whole thing.  Nowadays, on Sundays, they close it off to traffic and make it a big pedestrian area.  That was alright.

Family hungry!  Must eat!  We found a nice little spot on the way to the Pantheon.  Pizza and gnocchi for all!

The Pantheon.  When we were there in April, 2010, we had the place practically to ourselves.  This time...not so much.  We've all agreed that the Russians and the Italians should never be allowed to be in charge of lines of people.  

Piazza Navona from the south end.  Piazza Navona is a very cool place.  The south side of the piazza is mostly street performers of one form or another.  The north side is mostly artists selling their creations.  When we came through in April, 2010, our walking tour didn't stop to give us time to look at the art.  So we put it at the top of our list when we returned.  We ended up not finding anything that really spoke to us, but it was a lot of fun to wander and look at everything.

There was a lady making huge bubbles.  Parents would put kids on their shoulders to try and pop them, but this one escaped.  I really like the picture.

Family tired!  Need rest!

Piazza Navona from the North end

On our way to the Spanish Steps.  There were a whole bunch of people.

Towards the Spanish Steps.  Did I mention there were crowds?

Made it!  Addy's eyes are closed.  I shouldn't include this shot.  But I look fabulous!  The picture stays!

Addy and Izzy at the top of the Spanish Steps

The Trevi Fountain.  We really wanted to go down and toss a coin in over our left shoulders, but it just wasn't going to happen.  Even all of our Russian line-breaking skills were of no use.  So we came to this spot and the kids chucked their coins towards the water.  An Italian lady next to us shook her head at us and pantomimed the whole throw-it-backwards-over-your-left-shoulder thing.  We pantomimed the whole we-will-kill-someone-if-we-do-that thing.  It all worked out.

Wine and chocolate.  Not a bad way to end a day.  Karen's blurry, but it's a great shot of Izzy.  The picture stays!  What you can't see in the picture is the television screen right above Karen's head.  It had a soccer match on it. Addy was happy.

From there, we meandered our way back to the hotel and got some rest.  As mentioned 45 pictures ago, it was a good day!