Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy - Thursday, September 28, 2006

Again Jenny arranged a private shuttle to take us to Rome and dropped us at the Spanish Steps.

1st stop is the St. Peter Square. Witnessed the long line of the people waiting to get into the Vatican, we decided that we will skip the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel and just visit the St. Peter Square.

It is by far the largest church in the world. It took more than 100 years to build and involved a sucession of important artists and architects. It is definitely huge and spectacular.

Then we walked to visit Pizza Navona and Pantheon. We were not impressed with Pizza Navona. However, Pantheon is worth to see inside. Pantheon was built in the 1st century. Once it was called a Temple to All the Gods. The magnificent dome is made of reinforced concrete, with no internal support needed. All light for the interior comes from the large central opening; drains in the floor take care of the rain. The painter Raphael is buried here, together with the 1st two kings of the united Italy.

Then we walked to see the Rome Forum. It was the hub of the city in Republican and Imperial times, it features ancient ruins and the rostrum where Marc Anthony made his impassioned speech over the body of Julius Caesar.

Then we walked to Colosseum, the grandest and most celebrated of all of Rome’s monuments completed in 80 A.D.

On the way from Colosseum to Trevi Fountain, we ran into a demonstration parade. It was for the improvement of private insurance. A lot of Italians on the street waving flags and laughing. Leading by Jerry (curious Jerry), we talked to the people in the parade and walked with them just like we were in the demonstration. Some of the Italian even tried to take pictures of us. Funny!

We visited the famous Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Trevi Fountain was highlighted in the movie 'Three Coins in the Fountain' and the Spanish Steps was highlighted in the movie 'Roman Holiday'.

As you can see, it was a long day with lots of walking. However, we were able to see the most interesting and representing parts of Rome.