Ancient Rome and a bit more

I am convinced one could spend a week in Rome and never scratch the surface. Steve was here recently for work so he let me choose what to do today. I chose the ancient part of the city. If we had it to do over, I would get a tour--ahead of time. As individuals we had trouble finding where the entrances were and the lines were enormous. We ended up wandering and looking from the outside. There was still a lot to see, just not the specifics I had read about in the guide book.

Imperial Forum

The crowds are pretty overwhelming. I found myself thinking of Peter and Paul here in the first century when this was already the most important city in the Western world. They must have felt as overwhelmed by the crowds as I did. And the heat. It was well into the 90s.

The Victor Emanuel II Monument is impressive--sort of like the Washington Monument in D.C. since he united Italy in the beginning of the 20th c. We didn't do it justice.

We collapsed at a table in a sidewalk cafe and ordered a big bottle of water before anything else, then wandered home after pasta dishes to cold showers and naps.

About 4 we headed out again, this time to the Piazza Navona with it's fountains, artists and sidewalk restaurants.

We stopped at the Pantheon on the way. Inside is a church. People talked despite the signs saying, "Sacred space. Silence please."

We poked into enough beautiful churches that I can't remember all their names. I may come back to this post when I have had time to label them all. The most beautiful, St. Agnes of Agones, had a sign saying no photos. Sigh. I respected that even though I saw others taking them.

Like in Portugal, I take church visits as reminders to pray for the country.

We wandered narrow streets...

...and ended up at Trevi Fountain. Have I mentioned the crowds? Or the heat?

We ate gelati for supper and returned to our hotel for another round of cold showers. Steve takes off tomorrow early for his two days of recording videos for on-line courses on theological education for ICETE. He'll be staying with his friend Marvin north of the city, so I will be on my own to explore. I'm thinking of taking the bus to the Vatican.