Rome June 7th

Day 7 - Cruise day 3 Rome

It is another early day for us. Our boat docked early in Civitavecchia and we booked a bus transfer to Rome. This was an expensive option but we decided that we did not want to risk missing the boat because of train schedules. It was a 2 hour ride and we had a rather grumpy escort for the trip but at least he was not with us the whole day. When we arrived in Rome we were dropped off near the Colosseum. I was really hoping to go on the tour inside of the Colosseum but the line was already wrapped around the building inside and out. This is when we decided to spend the day seeing the sights instead of waiting in the line for one thing. S and I did a pretty good job of navigating the city. We walked from the Colosseum up a hill where we bought a beautiful painting. The guy was actually hand painting it right there so we know it is real and not a reproduction as sold elsewhere. Then we walked to the The Piazza Venezia, home of the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II then on towards the Trevi fountain. It was very crowded at the top and in the area around it but we saw a very less crowded area to the bottom left of the fountain. We walked over there and carried LL down the few steps. She was thrilled to get out of the stroller. She loved splashing in the fountain, it has to help grant your wish right? We even gave her a coin to throw in in hopes of returning to Rome some day. S and I took turns throwing in our coins as well. We hope to get back one day too. We then continued to the Spanish steps. We stopped for lunch on the way. S had a pizza and I had a calzone. It was delicious. We then made it to the steps. The reason they are the Spanish steps is because the Spanish embassy is near by. LL loved climbing the steps (the real reason we went to them). We let her climb the steps 3 times. She loved it! She also drew lots of attention from everyone on the steps who thought she was absolutely adorable. We left the steps and tried to see the Triton fountain. Unfortunately it was closed for renovation. We walked to the Palazzo Chigi, to the Pantheon and to as many other things as possible. We bought another magnet to soon become our Christmas ornament for Rome. We then walked and bought some yummy gelato. The guy was great and gave us an extra cone for LL. She got to have some strawberry from S and the chocolate chip from me and all on her own cone. She was a giant sticky mess but very happy. We took our last pictures of the Colosseum and headed back to the bus. It was a great day in Rome. We saw everything we wanted too. We had to make choices like not seeing the inside of the Colosseum or going to the Vatican but it allowed us to experience a lot of the city and since we threw our coins in to return to Rome we will be able to come back someday and see more of it. Once we returned to the ship we cleaned up and grabbed some dinner. It was a long day. We then headed to bed.

This is as close to the Vatican as we were able to get. A lovely picture from the bus window!

a cool bridge we saw from the bus

Our first glimpse of the Colosseum

LL was very excited to see horses. She would neigh every time she saw one. We had to stop and admire them all

Absolutely love this one!

A view of some of the lines inside the Colosseum

Looking through the bars.

Check out that line!

We think this is looking on towards the forum.

more of the forum???

As we walked we passed rows of statues lining either side of the street. We also passed fruit vendors and bought LL another banana for the day.

The Piazza Venezia, home of the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II:

Family Photo!

Trevi Fountain

another family photo

Super excited to see the fountain

love this face! The drops of fountain water on it just add to the whole image

Trying to not let her fall in

Throwing in my coin. Just 1 so I can return to Rome

LL and her coin. We also gave her just one. We don't need her to be falling in love (2 coins) or out of love (3 coins)

in it goes

And it is gone

S and his coin

The crowd around the fountain

our view from the side

close  up of one of the statues

Saying good bye to water is so hard when you're 18 months

Elmo made it to the Trevi Fountain too

The Spanish steps!

it was a long way to the top and yes she walked it 3 times.

family photo at the steps!

one last look

Palazzo Chigi

at this plaza there is a tall tower and here are some of the carvings on the tower.

The Pantheon

she is asleep

Now she's not

the one line we stood in.

Inside the Pantheon. The hole in the roof allows the sun to shine in and as it travels the room during the day it lights up different statues around the room

Lit up from the sun

back to the forum

            

This girl loves her Gelato and especially in her own cone!

last pictures with the Colosseum

The edge of the Colosseum. Notice all the people on the ledges

Towel art of the day- a Frog!