My Second Day in Rome

On my second full day in Rome, I rode the hop on, hop off bus for a couple of hours - did the whole circuit so as to see everything once, then got off and went back to visit a few places on foot.  Here are some photos of what I saw that day:

the Colosseum

St. Peter's Basilica

A nun with callalillies

Reminders of old Rome

Tables and chairs shaped like ice cream cones!

Forget which church this was, but check out that ceiling!

The wedding cake building

I also had lunch at McDonald's, as a homage to my first trip to Rome, when I missed my plane home and had to stay an extra day (what a tragedy) but was a little broke by then so had to eat lunch at McDonald's.  I didn't go looking for the same restaurant I had visited 8 years ago, I ate in one near the Termini train station but mamma mia, check out the pastry counter they had!  You don't see luscious bakery goods like that in the McD's back home, sista!

I also took a picture of myself in the bathroom there.  Just because.

I also popped in to see the Pantheon - which I always call the "Parthenon" but really, other than the similar spelling, there's no comparison between this building and the one in Greece. I just have to remind myself that the Roman one is dedicated to the ancient Roman gods, which does not include Pan, the Greek god of shepherds and nature, who played that funny flute.  Okay, that really doesn't help, does it? No matter how you slice it, it is easy to confuse the two names!  Nevertheless, it is quite an amazing building, "a formidable architectural achievement" according to The Rough Guide.  Did you know that its diameter is precisely equal to its height?

The amazing thing about Rome is that there is old stuff everywhere.  You walk around a corner and suddenly there is a piece of ancient Rome in front of you - a statue, a wall, a column.  It's really quite remarkable that 2000 years later, these things are still here for us to see and enjoy.