so today we explored a lot of Rome, but there is so much to see here we should stay a week Mom says. She's kidding, of course, we're leaving tomorrow enough big cities it's too noisy and hot ..........remember?

I have to tell you about the drive across Italy to get here. Once again we were driving over mountains and Alice flipped out, any which way we turned she said drive 200 meters and make a U-turn. 

Sure I heard "all roads lead to Rome" but this is ridiculous.

We drove through many small quaint cities but nowhere to stop and park, so Mom tried to take pictures as we were driving...............very safe.............right ??

Roads are narrow and once Mom clipped the right rear view mirror on a house that came too close...............no harm other than a big bang. Just fold the mirror out again. It wasn't this house, but some of them are just too close to the road

In one village a marching band was playing to a statue they had tied to a truck ? Again we couldn't stop but it was funny how people looked at us as Mom stops in the middle of the road to take a picture

IN another village we ended up in the middle of a funeral procession first car was decorated with flowers. We did get some looks and I told Mom we should have waited and let all those cars go by...............she said "the dead guy doesn't mind"

we saw entire towns in ruins, only stones left. Mom thinks it's from the devastating 6.6 earthquakes that happened last year.

Finally when we came closer to Rome Alice got her bearings and told us how to get to the campsite. She seems to be a city girl who can't handle the mountains very well.

We parked and relaxed, Mom trying to figure out how to explore the city tomorrow. It's still hot as hell so I got the fan to cool me.

In the morning Mom decided we'll take a taxi to the Spanish steps and see how we work it out from there.

SPANISH STEPS In the 17th century the French had initially proposed a plan to build the Spanish Steps and top it off with a statue of King Louis XIV. However there was opposition from the pope and the plan was only carried out in 1723-1726, but without the addition of the statue. The designer Francisco de Sanctis was chosen for the job and the 137 step flight of stairs was built drawing on the technique of terraced garden stairs. The stairs signified the peace between the Spanish (below) and the French in the square above. The steps are the widest staircase in Europe, and attract a lot of attention from tourists. In May the steps are decorated with azaleas and once a year there is a fashion show here when the steps become the catwalk.

 On top of the stairs is Monti Church. Originally a small chapel stood here but following a commission by Louis XII a new, bigger and better church was completed in 1585. There are two bell towers each with a clock, one shows French time (international time) and the other once showed Italian time but now has a sundial.

The 1953 film RomanHoliday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, made the Spanish Steps famous to an American audience.

This city is amazing, we sat on the steps for awhile and just watch the crowds. I noticed some meatball factories in the middle of town, and I really wanted to go and say hi. Mom feels sorry for them having to pull people around town and are againstpromoting it, but it beats walking, so we did it.

     

Unbelievable narrow streets and little tiny cars buzzing around, but it's still amazingly quiet, no blowing horns like in NY.

It's kind of neat listening to the clippety-clop of Phil's hoofs on the cobblestone streets.

At every monument was guards standing with machine guns, sad but necessary.

Our first stop was at The Pantheon which is one of the great spiritual buildings of the world. It was built as a Roman temple and later consecrated as a Catholic Church. Its monumental porch originally faced a rectangular colonnaded temple courtyard and now fronts the smaller Piazza Della Rotonda. Through great bronze doors, one enters one great circular room. The interior volume is a cylinder above which rises the hemispherical dome. Opposite the door is a recessed semicircular apse, and on each side are three additional recesses, alternately rectangular and semicircular, separated from the space under the dome by paired monolithic columns. The only natural light enters through an unglazed oculus at the center of the dome and through the bronze doors to the portico. As the sun moves, striking patterns of light illuminate the walls and floors of porphyry, granite, and yellow marbles

 Outside the Vatican, there was a line around the block and a minimum of 2 hours wait in the hot sun, so we skipped visiting him, but I thought I saw him hanging out here.........Mom said it wasn't.

Everywhere you turn and look there's some magnificient buildings and even though Phils driver kept telling Mom the names of the places, she couldn't remember them all. He didn't speak English either so that made it difficult.

Here we are at Piazza Navona it is built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium.The ancient Romans went there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as "Circus Agonalis" ("competition arena"). 

These fountains are amazing, so many statues and things happening, and now we're heading to the most famous of them all.

The Trevi Fountain designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci Standingmetersmetres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. The fountain has appeared in several notable films, including Fellini's La Dolce Vita and the eponymous Three coins in the fountain

Coins are purportedly meant to be thrown using the right hand over the left shoulder.

An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day, Moms bounced of a tourist and went somewhere.... In 2016, an estimated US $1.5 million was thrown into the fountain. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy, however, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain although it is illegal to do so.

Here's an interesting article written in NY Times recently about this place............

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/world/europe/no-swimming-rome-braces-for-summer-of-tourists-at-its-fountains.html

Mom filmed a little to show this crowd.

Saying goodbye to Phil we were walking around and look.......There he is!!!!!! The guy with the accordion, quickly I found a date and let's go ............This guy just grinned at me, didn't say a word, and the date I picked up ended up to be another boy who was only interested in my butt.............no luck this time either, may We're still in the wrong town.........Mom said that what I'm referring to was a cartoon....not real......make belief......Disney stuff.....I think her timing on telling me the truth was very cruel.
   

Time for lunch so Mom decided to make up for her cruelness and find me a nice cool marble floor...........where she ordered a great sandwich. I got several tastes so that proves she was sorry....right?

Italians are really good about letting us into their places, and after a long lunch, we walked around for a while again.

Taking pictures of things Mom can't remember what it was, still gorgeous though.

I think this was the parliament and that obelisk had so many intricate carvings it must have taken years to finish. I'm also sure it is a big story pictured. Italians are good at that.

All of a sudden we hear a woman screaming and we hurried there to see if we could help? She didn't look like she was in any pain, and Mom gave here money, I'm sure it was meant to make her stop, she didn't so we continued on.

Now Mom said we HAD to see the Coliseum before we leave, but looking at the map that would be a hike so she talked to a taxi driver who had a great command of English and he'll take us there and then back to Lucy.............he drove a tiny little Ford with sliding doors I never seen before, and he didn't want me on the seat, but who cares, he had the AC on

Construction of the Colosseum began under Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus.

TheColosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000 it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" that starts in the area around the Colosseum

The Arch of Constantine is the biggest honorary arch in our times. It is placed between the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus on Via Romana that goes through the triumphal procession covered for the triumphal march and that goes towards the Temple of Giove Capitolino

We were so lucky that this taxi driver was a native of Rome and knew everything and was willing to show us some more beautiful sights. He told us Rome is built on seven hills and he took us up to show an amazing view.

From here you can see so many church domes and incredible large monuments. Of course, there was a fountain here too, and here's a link to the shooting of a James Bond movie where there's a car chase in Rome and around this place

.https://www.topgear.com/car-news/behind-scenes/bond-special-behind-scenes-spectres-big-rome-car-chase#1

high on the Aventine another Piazza. Bordered by a high wall, decorated with neoclassical obelisks and military trophies, it leads to a famous and fascinating broad wooden door. 

Known affectionately by Romans as the "Hole of the Rome" its abiding attraction draws queues of visitors to this "out of the way" spot. No key is required: it is sufficient to put an open eye to the keyhole, and focus.

With kaleidoscope charm, a vision of St Peters dome perfectly in perspective, framed by the tops of trees in the foreground, opens up. Often wrapped in a thin mysterious mist, seems to stand at the end of the garden path, just beyond the door..............nope, we didn't get on line

This monument is Giuseppe Garibaldi  4 July 1807 in Nice – 2 June 1882 was an Italian general, politician, and nationalist who played a large role in the history of Italy. He is considered as one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland".

Garibaldi personally commanded and fought in many military campaigns that led eventually to the Italian unification.

He has been called the "Hero of Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in Brazil, Uruguay, and Europe. These earned him a considerable reputation in Italy and abroad, aided by exceptional international media coverage at the time.  The United Kingdom and the United States helped him a great deal, offering him financial and military support in difficult circumstances.

In the popular telling of his story, he is associated with the red shirts worn by his volunteers in lieu of a uniform.

Finally, this fantastic Taxi driver took us back to Lucy and even though there's so much more to see of Rome I'm glad we got to see as much as we did. Tomorrow we'll be heading North towards the Amalfi coast. 

all is well.