ITALY![]()
2011
2011****************************
Wednesday, June 8th - Rome, Italy
We started our day around 7:30 am with complimentary breakfast at Picasso Cafe just down the street from our B&B. The filled croissants and cappucino were insanely good! My mouth is watering just remembering the taste! This is also the first time we ordered in Italian, "Due Croissant 'e Cappuccino por favare".
While we sat at our little table on the street, we checked the Rick Steve's book for tips on the major attractions we were planning to hit that day, but the best advice was what Mary told us. She said to start at the Roman Forum, the farthest entrance from the Colosseum and work "backwards". That way, we wouldn't have to stand in line and the crowds will pass us since we're going the opposite direction. Brilliant...we didn't wait in a single line the entire time we were in Rome thanks to Mary!
On our short walk to Via de Fori Imperiali (the major street that all of the ruins are on), we saw a shop owner sweeping outside her door. I had to stop and take a picture because when I think of an Italian shop owner, that is the exact scene that I see!
So, we found our way past this very forward Roman guy and bought our ticket into the Roman Forum and here is what we saw...
At the far end is the Arch of Septimius Severus. It has very detailed drawings of battles in Mesopotamia and intricate flowers on the underside of the arch. Apparently this was common because we saw it on many arches in the city. 
As we walked through the ancient ruins we took hundreds of pictures (it was our first sight of ruins this old, of course), so here are just some of the pictures we took in the general Forum.
Between the Roman Forum and Palatine are two interesting spots: Nero's Temple and the House of Vestali.
Nero's House looked like a temple with
giant doors entering into this circular area. Of course it had the dome like every other important building in Rome!
Casa delle Vestali was the most intact part of the ruins. You could see the house walls that surrounded this courtyard. Statues lined the courtyard with giant pools in the center. It was really beautiful, especially with the clouds that day.
Our next stop was the House of Augustus.
