September 24th - Rome

Another breakfast on the go as we raced to the Borghese Gardens. Since we had pre-purchased tickets, we had to be there at our appointed time. The gallery was beautiful! We were both most impressed with Bernini's David, even more so than Michaelangelo's in some ways. He was pulling back on his sling, his brow furrowed, and was biting his lip. We also enjoyed seeing Canova's "Venus Victrix," Bernini's "Appolo & David," and works by Titian, Raphael & Caravaggio. We enjoyed a more leisurely stroll through the gardens after, taking beautiful pictures of the city from terrace. We took the subway to the National Museum...we enjoyed the coin collection most. Then we took the bus towards the Pantheon, where we had lunch at Miscilenea (brusscheta, lasagna & gnocci). Rick recommended it, of course! They brought strawberry wine because we had Rick Steve's book on the table. We bought the boys each a Roman gladiator figure. Then we walked to the Roman Forum, taking pictures of what we thought was the Via Sacra (oldest street in Rome) several times before actually stumbling upon it. We walked around a bit using Rick's book as our guide, and then overheard a guy saying he was giving free tours and to hop in. It was fascinating and he gave much more detail of each structure and historical stories associated with each area of the Forum. His oratory of Caesar's death and Mark Anthony's speech was captivating. Next we walked through Palatine Hill. We were kicked out at 7 p.m. and walked to the Circus Maximus. Then to dinner at a neat little restaurant our tour guide recommended (ravioli and pork shank). We called and sang "Happy Birthday" to our sweet little one year old, Ireland, before going to sleep.

Roman Forum

Mamertime Prison - Peter & Paul were imprisoned here

Piazza del Popolo

lots of cool mosaics!

Roman Forum

Via Sacra!

Palatine Hill