roma with mikey

Back to Rome we go! We did lots of roaming in Rome. It was good times. Here's a gladiator on a tiny truck bed. Funny!

I love the knockers. Don't you?

Since I had too many different kinds of money in my wallet (Zloty, NZ dollars, Oz dollars, baht) we converted to euros.

We wandered to the Pantheon, where we saw people eating McDonalds in the square, right next to all these great little restaurants with 4 euro lasagna and many other good things! Why would you do such a thing?
Anyhoo, the picture is of the circle of light coming from the open area in the ceiling of the pantheon. The building was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, and then was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

The boys are throwing coins over their shoulders at the Trevi fountain! According to legend, it means that they'll come back to Rome. According to Wikipedia, about 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

Josh checking out the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill area. This is part of the central area around which ancient Roman civilization developed.


When in Rome...

And the grand Colosseo! Josh and Mike took a tour inside while I went for a wander around the surrounding areas...they learned fun things like they had comedy shows where a dog and porcupine would fight.

For some reason I thought that the boys should give the camera mad faces... (there was a reason, I just don't remember what, though Josh says that it was totally out of the blue)

Mike is too happy for mad faces.

Then we went to the baths, Terme di Caracalla--this place is huge! It wasn't just baths, but more of a center, with space for sports, hot baths, cold baths, and even a library. It had awesome decoration and mosaics--some are still around, but in pieces on the ground rather than on the walls!

And a more panoramic view.

Hanging out in the baths.

We found La Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth), but it was behind bars. Mikey tried it anyway. He was almost eaten. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off.

And a lovely nighttime view of the Basilica.