Roma Day 1 & 2

The first couple days we spent in Renaissance Rome. Basically the Michelangelo and Bernini influenced Rome. Mainly because we had planned to see the Pope on Christmas or Christmas Eve, so we needed to fit everything in.

One of the first things I realized about Rome is that there is a lot to do and see in Rome. Most cities have Renaissance sights or ancient sight or even sporting event and sights, but Rome has them all. Plus, you throw the unique Vatican City and you can never really see it all.

We stayed at an apartment instead of a hotel. This was a new experience for us, but it turned out well. We would definitely do it again. The apartment was right next to the Camp de' Fiori, basically a square the vends flowers during the day and is one of the busiest party squares in Rome.

The Campo de' Fiori was a five minute walk from the Piazza Navona:

During Christmas they turn the Piazza Navona into a large Christmas market. Quite a nice touch!

Next we went to the Pantheon. Thinks the ancient Romans had the ATM in mind when they designed this over 21 centuries ago:

Yes, the Guinness Rugby shirt made the trip, total tourist gear:

It is impossible with my camera, and the amount of people walking in and out of the Pantheon, to get a good picture of the inside of this building. It is VERY impressive. This is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world and it was made in the second century BC. 43.3 meters across and tall, a perfect semi-circle. Those Romans were a clever bunch because with current concrete the dome would collapse under its own weight. One thing that the photo does show is the door to Paty's left or photo right. Pure cast bronze.

Next we walked up to the Piazza del Popolo, this is a 25 minute walk that took us four hours as we stopped at EVERY shop between the Pantheon and Popolo looking for a new jacket for Paty, among other things.

Next we walked down to one of our favorite spots in Roma, the Spanish Steps or Piazza de Spagna.


After a very long day of shopping, walking, shopping and walking interspersed with some wine and good food we happened by the Pantheon again:


Day 2 in Roma was more sightseeing and a little highlight of my part of the trip, football!
First the Trevi Fountain:

Very impressive, there is a legend that says if you throw a coin into the fountain backwards once then you will come back to Rome:

I guess Paty wants to come back!

Next to the highlight of my part of the trip, the futball game!
Both AS Roma and Lazio play their home games here. This stadium was the host of the 1960 Olympics and also was extensively refurbished for the 1990 World Cup. A lot of history here. And they also let you drink beer out front:

Me in my new AS Roma scarf. Also notice that the Pelican brewery made it to Rome. I wonder if they have a board for all the places where their clothes have been, that shirt has been all over Europe!
Also got a hat:

One of the highlights of the roster for Roma was #10 Fransesco Totti, this is probably the best Italian player of our generation. It was cool to say we saw him in person, watching during the game I realized that he is a lot better than I have always thought.

This is where all the 'Ultra' supporters sit. The Ultra's are the Italian equivalent of the English hooligan, except with tighter jeans. Notice that the track is wet and there are some fire hoses spread about. There are fire fighters that spray down the track before the game and at halftime because from time to time one of these flares would be tossed from the stands onto the track.

Needless the say the security is slightly more lax for a league game than it is for say the World Cup or any US sporting event. I don't know how flares would be received at this weekend's Seahawks playoff game, but it would be great if someone tried!
He he, this might be my new screensaver:

A beautiful setting for the game, the stadium looks empty but there were 44,000 people there. Just a really large venue:

After the game we did more shopping and walking. We found a really nice wine bar on the Via Veneto.

Notice the new leather jacket. Pretty smooth.

And one last stop at the Trevi fountain on the walk back to the hotel.

Apparently Paty really wants to come back to Rome: