July 12 – Rome

Our morning tour of the Colosseum had been canceled so we had a leisurely morning on our own.  We headed back to see the Pantheon in hopes that it would be open…and it was...

with its famous hole at the top of the dome.

We also got to revisit the beautiful Piazza Navona.

We walked along the Tiber River where we could see St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance.

St. Peter's in the Distance

We then wandered back through town.  By chance we came across the Spanish Steps and the boat fountain at its base.  Crowds weren’t too bad but heavy enough.

There was a line to get your picture taken at the Fountain of the Old Boat (some call it the Leaky Boat Fountain) at the base of the steps but Chloe finally made it to front of the line.

We had a class scheduled this afternoon so after lunch we headed out across Rome on foot.  The number of fountains and statuary and interesting buildings, practically on every corner, is just amazing.

After lunch we went to a mosaic class where all three of us, including Paul, made a tile mosaic.  It is harder than it looks.  We were all very pleased with our efforts.  The teachers said that Chloe was very good…lots of patience.

After Chloe was done, she practiced cutting tile squares into really small pieces.  The teacher said she was very good, and learned much faster than normal.

We walked some more around Rome – came across many ruins and monuments.

We finished the day at the Monument to Victor Emmanuel, first president of the united Italy. 

We took the elevator to the top where we had great views of all of Rome, including the Colosseum.