This is the shower of our hotel room in Rome. My shoe (size 9.5) for scale. It doesn't actually fit into the shower without turning it.
This is what is left of the bridge that used to span the Tiber River. Near the left edge you can see a mama gull on her nest with daddy gull keeping gaurd in the upper right.
These Roman dudes were all over the place, taking tips for photo ops.
There are at least two columns like this in Rome. Spiraling up the column is a carved history of a major battle.
Detail on the carved, spiral history.
Treileileileilei! Now the song is stuck in my head...
Chocolate and espresso shot, for sale pretty much everywhere in Rome. They're pretty good.
Elly and fountain in random Roman piazza.
This was our first view of The Coliseum.
Fist of Coliseum Panorama. Pano (1 of 11)
Pano (2 of 11)
Pano (3 of 11)
Pano (4 of 11)
Pano (5 of 11)
Pano (6 of 11)
Pano (7 of 11)
Pano (8 of 11)
Pano (9 of 11)
Pano (10 of 11)
Pano (11 of 11)
I was a bit convinced that the tour we had just forked 50 Euro for was a scam. We snapped a picture of our "tour guide" just in case. He's the guy in orange, turned out to be legit.
For a long time they used the Coliseum as a traffic roundabout, it got pretty badly damaged by smog. The right side is the only part that was cleaned.
Triumval Arch near the Coliseum.
Our tour had one-way radios so we could hear the guide more easily. Elly found a clever way to warp it around her head so she didn't have to hold it.
Original mosaic preserved.
Some recreations of gladiator armor.
Original gladiator helmet.
Fragments of original armor, with fresh cords tying them together.
Pano (1 of 4)
Pano (2 of 4)
Pano (3 of 4)
Pano (4 of 4)
Underground pits used to store, raise, lower gladiators and animals.
Clossal pigeons intended for combat released upon the tourists.
ARG! Collosal pigeon attack!
This kid was chasing pigeons around.
Umbrella pines imported from the middle east to shade the Roman armies as they marched.
A chariot race track. This one was in miniature, used by ponies and chariots with child riders.
Mussolini's palace. Much newer than the rest, obviously.
This door was built so far above the ground because of the build up of silt due to flooding. The steps are MUCH older than the door.
There were these 2 Italian crows in the mix. Their color is similar to pigeons but they are MUCH bigger, but that didn't come out in the picture, sadly.
Elly demonstrating the scale of the Colleseum. We realized that our photos made it look much bigger than it actually was. It fits on the plam of your hand. ;)
This subway was ridiculously crowded.
Iconography lulz.
The next many photos are St. Peter's Basilica. This is the entrance piazza.
I could NEVER hold this still when I was his age. I think he was maybe 12.
Probably my favorite shot of the day. This is the first thing you see as you come in.
Painted dome in the basilica. Several of these exist, I only shot the one.
Michelangelo's "La Pietà ", carved when he was 22.
My only bit of sacrelidge during my visit.
Several of these exist. Statues of dead popes near their burial site or urn, complete with death mask.
This guy snagged a whole ice cream cone. He kept dipping it in the water between each bite. (Italian crow pictured here, not pigeon.)
In the center is Duckpope, the only non-human pope. This statue was carved as he was coming out of the shower.
As we were making our way through Rome we stumbled upon a major protest, with LOTS of armed suppression.
The cops were all polite, though. There to keep the peace.
"Trevi Fountain". Pretty cool fountain. I shoulda gotten more pics but I was exhausted.
The second spiral history column we saw.
The Pantheon, complete with the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.
"Sette Oche" ristorante had their own cat. Pictured several times in the following photos.
Rave Rabbit wandered through the restaurant trying to sell us LED globes. I think he was in the wrong place. So did the waiter.
He rejected the sausage I tried to give him. Maybe he prefers pasta?
At this point we were REALLY drunk. The following photos don't make much sense.
I spilled most of a glass of wine into my lap near the end. I think it saved me from being hung over.
Can you see Elly's sunburn?
Cheers!
