Sunday was apparently some sort of holiday, but we never found out what the occasion was. We were almost ready to leave the hotel for the day when this little band marched into the Piazza della Rotonda. They stayed for 15 minutes or so playing what must have been the Italian equivalent of John Phillips Sousa.
We had already seen the Colosseum and Forum, but not the Palantine. Most of the hill is not all that impressive, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go.
Even though our Roma passes were still valid, apparently you can’t get the discount twice for the same sight — meaning we had to pay the full price to get back into the Palantine — which really put me in a foul mood for the first half of the day. So to feel like we got our money’s worth we went back to the Forum.
And the Colosseum
Roman’s were big graffitiers, so maybe this bit on one of the Colosseum’s support walls is appropriate. Or not.
We finished by sitting and people watching on the Campidolglio.
Some street scenes after the jump »
Fountain near the Termini Station
The pizza at La Gallina Bianca (The White Chicken) was amazing.
Outside the Borghese Gallery
A statue/monument inside the Villa Borghese, which despite its name, is not a house, but a park. The umbrella pines are amazing; I wish we had them in the States.
George Washington Street!
Top of an arch in the Borghese park.
Jeff pointing the way out of the Villa Borghese park. Sadly my camera battery died short after taking this photo.
Statue bits laying about a courtyard in the Capitoline Museums.
One of the walls in that same courtyard.
St. Peter’s Square
An illegal photo of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It’s just mean that they won’t let you take photos.
Late afternoon light through the drum of St. Peter’s Basilica’s main dome.
Hoodlums and drunken teenagers at the Spanish Steps.
Mmmm … gelato.
Piazza della Rontonda and the Pantheon.
Piazza Navona and Bernini’s famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of Four Rivers.)
The Moro fountain on the south end of Piazza Navona.
Many buildings in Rome have these architectural spots for saints, but this one was particularly beautiful.
The Vittorio Emanuele II monument (aka “the wedding cake”) and crazy Italian drivers.
The Arch of Contantine seen from the Colosseum.