October 28,

The last two days have been full of adventure indeed...allowing me to live up to my new title.  We started yesterday with a visit to the colleseum where we took a tour which was well worth the money as it allowed us to skip an incredible line to get in.  We spent a full two hours there looking at the ruins and also at the exhibit that was on display.  What a neat experience...to visit artifacts in the colleseum in what was essentially an outdoor environment.  I saw a remarkable statue of Trajan...one of my favorite emperors...

After two hours in the colleseum, it was off to the Palentine Hill for a complementary completion of the tour on the Palentine Hill.  The tour guide painted a picture of life as it was and brought the place to life for us...

After this tour we were free to roam about...and we ended up in the forum where we saw many remarkable things, including the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple of the vestal virigins...


Then we were off again to find the Trevi Fountain...on a Saturday night...when the rest of Rome seemed to also be out and about.  It was so busy and the cast on my foot made it impossible to get to the fountain (sorry to all those who asked me to throw a coin for them)...we wandered a bit more and found a place for a meal.  Then we jumped on a bus hoping to find the Pantheon...after completing a full circuit, a friendly tourist helped us out and we finally made it to the square, but the Pantheon was closed...so we had an ice cream and jumped on the bus headed back....but it stopped service part way through the trip and we ended up stranded in a part of town unknown to us...so we flagged down a cab (thank goodness) and made it back to the B & B by midnight...exhausted we fell into bed...

October 29

Our plan was to go to St. Peters Bassillica and the Vatican Museum today...it being the only free Sunday of the month (by free I mean no admission charge)...after an early rise we grabbed a taxi (the bus experience of the previous day had already made me leary of public transportation) and arrived to find that not surprisingly, many others knew of this free day and the lineups were huge....oh my poor foot...
However, we found that we could get into the Basillica fairly easily if we attended mass...and so we did...and it was beautiful...the choir was magnificent, the music magical and the surroundings...indescribable...by the time the mass was finished...the lines were shorter and we made it into the museums just before they closed....

How beautiful are the artifacts in the museum...from sculputer to frescos to marble floors...words can not really do them justice.  We were headed for the Sistine Chaple, with about 3,000 of our closest friends...and knowing that the place closed at around 2:00 we could not spend time looking at all the artifcats along the way...but when we got to the chapel it was all worth it...what a spectical!  The paintings are all beautiful and have been expertly restored...we were both awe struck by the whole experience...


Then it was off to have a very late lunch, all in the vicinity of Piazza Navona...the home of incredible fountains...

In any case...I have not been able to upload any pictures...so will add these once I find a way to do so..

The adventure continues....