Actually I don’t think the Romans attempt to walk all the way across their city and see as many monuments as it is physically possible to see in a single afternoon, so we probably didn’t do as the Romans do on our first day (after our oh-so-joyous Vatican tour experience).
Nevertheless, after re-energising with copious quantities of carbohydrates and cheese (as the Romans do), we set off to see the first of many tourist attractions, Castel Sant' Angelo, where Tom couldn't resist fighting with some gladiators.
We then crossed the nearby Ponte Sant' Angelo
And looked back at the castle.
I think they deliberately make tourist maps simple (i.e. by cutting out some of the streets they include in them), meaning that it's actually extremely difficult to get somewhere without getting lost at least once. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So we explored a few Roman streets while we searched for our next attraction.
We popped our heads into a museum that wasn't on the map...
And marvelled at the sheer size of its door.
Then we found Piazza Navona.
We admired the fountain...
And chuckled at the locals.
And even spotted a Louis in an underground bathroom! Can you spot him?
Next major stop: The Pantheon.
Where we decided we just had to stop for some gelati.
And a splash in the fountain. Eww.
Oh and of course a chat with a horse.
This is the magnificent dome inside the Pantheon.
In case you can't read it, Tom is pointing to one of the rules of entry, that states that it is forbidden to: "make a noise that could be annoying to other visitors". Those of us who know Tom well know how hard it is for him to comply with a rule like that. Hehe.
Tom then needed a water topup, so had to fight through a bunch of school children to get a turn at the water fountain. Can you spot him?
And then he was arrested. Just kidding. He likes the police's uniforms.
We continued on our way to the next tourist attraction, stopping for the momentuous event of me pretending to ride a wooden motorbike.
And then we reached the Templo Adriano.
And then kept on walking.
Finding some entertaining street performers along the way.
And another monument, this one at Piazza Colonna.
The next major stop? Guess where.
No idea? Here's a bit more...
That's right, the Trevi Fountain.
I attempted to throw a coin into the fountain, which is supposed to guarantee your return to Rome.
I got so caught up in the idea of throwing a coin in the air that it hardly even made it over my shoulder. Whoops.
A kind stranger retrieved it for me.
For anyone, this is my sheepish look.
OK. Attempt 2.
See those muscles flex, I was definitely planning on this one making it as far as the fountain!
Checking...
Success!!!
Tom decided to spank a giant wooden pinocchio.
And then we spotted a little deli, and made our first attempt at purchasing cheese in Italian. Hmm... choices...
"Quanto costa?"
"Poco, poco".
Don't worry, we didn't run out without paying, this was a completely unrelated incident.
Someone's gone around Rome and added these cute little black stickers to the road signs.
I looked down an alley and spotted this. So very Italian, don't you think?
We then had to pause at the top of the hill for Tom to have some thinking time.
And for me to attempt (very badly) to appear to be clinging onto the leg of a statue.
We found a nice little shady park where we stopped and watched the world go by for a bit.
And were entertained by some local boys playing soccer.
All that exertion... I had to stretch.
This statue may have been doing the same... with one breast exposed. Why not?
Our next stop was the Spanish Steps, approaching from the top.
We decided to settle in and enjoy the atmosphere for a while.
And we were treated to a show of how the local handbag and sunglass salesmen set up for the evening. The show reached its climax when some joker in the crowd yelled out "Polizia!" and they scooped up their wares in those sheets and were halfway up the stairs within about three seconds. Hilarious.
Here are the steps from below.
We then set out to enjoy an evening in Rome.
Australians will enjoy the neon sign below this restaurant.
Tom posed for a quick photo outside one of the windows of the Hard Rock Cafe as we passed by, shaking our heads and tutting at the people inside eating hamburgers and fries when they could be eating gourmet Italian pasta.
On that note, we went in search of our own appropriately Italian dinner.
Here's our map of Rome at the end of the day, when Tom had blue-penned in everywhere we had walked that day.
Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted! My feet certainly were!
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