Rome

This is the Pantheon.  It was originally built as a temple for the pagan gods, but that was later changed to a catholic church.  It has Rafael's tomb in it.  If you have seen/read Angels and Demons, this is part of the story...

On New Years Day we took a little day trip to the Mediterranean to this cute little town called Ostia Antica.  The ONLY place to eat that was open was this restaurant that specialized in sea food.  I was excited!  Most everyone else was not.  I ordered this spaghetti with lobster... AMAZING!  I was happy we stopped there!  :) 

Something about Rome that pretty much amazed me was there were ruins EVERYWHERE!  You really get the feeling of just how ancient this city really is!  Behind us used to be a huge palace that housed basically royalty.  Amazing!

The Mediterranean!  The water was so blue and beautiful!  The beach was completely lined with sea shells so it was pretty fun to go and pick out sea shells.  It was a beautiful beach and very quiet.  I think part of that is because a lot of people were hung over, but that's fine!

The Forum.  This was basically their shopping mall.  It was cool to walk through all of this and see what it used to be!  The work that went into the beauty of their city was absolutely awesome!

This was a typical street, notice all the cars.  Those were basically what all the cars looked like.  A lot of smart cars are driven there.  And don't step out in front of a car assuming they will slow down, they don't!

This is the best gelato in Rome!  As in, the Pope comes here to get his gelato!  We found this amazing place the last day we were there... unfortunately.  After you pick what kind of ice cream you want they ask if you want cream.  I wasn't exactly sure what they meant and then I saw this HUGE bowl full of FRESH whipping cream!  You had better believe I want cream!  It was some of the best ice cream I have ever had! 

These are the spanish steps.  This was the day before New Years and there were a LOT of people in the city!  But it was pretty beautiful and a very nice part of the city to visit!

Castle St. Angelo.  We weren't able to go in here because it was closed for the holiday, but even just to walk around it was pretty magnificent.  Also, this is another Angels and Demons kind of place.... This is where they kept the cardinals in the book.  Just giving you a frame of reference.  :)

Rafael's Tomb in the Pantheon

Circo Maximo.  Behind us is where they held their chariot races.  Also, if you notice the buildings behind us... those are part of the ruins as well.  Absolutely amazing to be there!

This is called the Trevi Fountains.  They are huge and absolutely spectacular.  If you throw a coin over your right shoulder into the fountain you basically promise to return to Rome someday.  I am really hoping I keep that promise!  :)

We did a lot of this!  We probably walked at least 5 or more miles a day.  I loved moving all the time!  It was a lot of fun!