Rome where you want to

Rob just informed me that if we had turned right instead of left this afternoon, we could have found ourselves in a church that features, among other relics, the “black and shriveled” head of John the Baptist (quote from Rick Steves). I am suddenly very relieved that we instead found ourselves inadvertently walking past Rome’s version of the White House and the Capital building.

So it was that sort of wonderfully wandering day today. We walked probably about 4 miles which leaves me guilt-free about the lemon gelato and the creamy vanilla pudding-like something or other between two flakey pastries that was drizzled with chocolate that we shared for dessert. Oh, and the All Prosciutto All the Time policy I seemed to have with my pizza lunch and the most spectacular carbonara I had for dinner. Yep, no guilt.

We started the morning realizing with a start that it was one minute away from being afternoon. We employed two different time keeping devices before we believed it really was 11:59am when we woke up. Ooops.

But the later than anticipated up-and-at-em really didn’t hamper our day. We walked through the Piazza Navona (big plaza that used to be a stadium) to the Pantheon (originally a temple to all the Roman gods but then later deemed a Christian church) to the Roman Forum (Rome's origins). I have long wanted to get out and walk around the ancient ruins of the City of Rome. It was amazing how well-preserved Rome’s earliest days are. There were a few buildings and lots of columns. We saw the prison where Paul of the Bible is believed to have been detained for a number of years, and we saw the mound of dirt and rock commemorating where Caesar was cremated in a funeral pyre. So, basically, some really old stuff.

Us on Via Sacra in the Roman Forum

We then wandered over to the Coliseum and walked around inside. Instead of a guided tour, we opted to read out of a travel book we brought along. Given the heat, it worked rather well as it allowed us to seek shade as needed. I was most impressed by the engineering involved in building the coliseum. The Romans were quite the civil engineers! They managed to get rocks in place to build columns and arches and they McGyver’ed an elevator system to bring animals and prisoners from the labyrinth below to the floor of the arena for their bloody battles. Not to mention generally building an enormous structure in just four years without any fancy Black and Decker stuff.  So while I wasn't so excited by the events that took place in the Coliseum, the structure itself is rather amazing.

On our way to dinner, we paused to purchase a snazzy tie for Rob since he realized somewhere over the Atlantic that he forgot to pack one necessary for us to participate in the two “formal nights” on our cruise. I also am giddy about a new red leather backpack purse that smells delicious.

On our way back to the hotel from dinner (which was scrumptious and all things Italian… did I mentioned I had the best carbonara of my life?), we stopped at a bridge over the Tiber River to take in a most beautiful evening view.

The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica

Our biggest plan for tomorrow is arriving safely and punctually at the port to board a ship which will be our home for a spell. It was a quick visit here but I think we made a most of it. Arrivederci, Roma!