Refreshed, dressed and properly caffeinated (ooo, the Italian coffee!!) we steped out once again onto the busy streets of Rome. We took the Metro to The Spanish Steps where we planned to walk down to the Pantheon. Since it was early and technically off season, the Steps were not very crowded. We stopped for a snack at a fountain near the bottom of the Steps, watched the peeps and then climbed the stairs.
After about a 20 minute walk through construction, traffic and narrow Roman streets we arrived at the Pantheon. The Pantheon sits in a beautiful little Piazza with a fountain in the center and plenty of touristy cafes. We eagerly dropped into the closest cafe for a much needed rest and refuel. 2 coffees, 2 juices, 1 fruit salad and 28 euros (!!) later we were ready to explore the Pantheon.
The Pantheon is Ancient Rome's best preserved building. It was used as a Christian church from 608 on but was originally dedicated to the Classical Gods. This is reflected in its name~ pan (all) & theos (gods.) The entry way of the Pantheon is constructed with 16 Corinthian columns. Each one is made from a single block of stone. They are massive. The picture of Eva amongst the columns gives a little perspective as to their huge size.
The magnificent dome portion of the Pantheon has a 9 meter hole or oculus in its center. There are tiny holes in the marble floor to allow the rain to drain away. Eva was fascinated with the oculus.
After the Pantheon we ate lunch and headed home for a little rest time. We'd need it as our afternoon adventure was to the Colosseum. We woke Audrey up from her nap and walked to the Colosseum. According to our map it closed at 5:00 and we figured we'd arrive around 4:00.
Well, we were not so lucky. Apparently the last tickets are sold at 4:00 and everyone must be out by 5:00. We were terribly disappointed to arrive at 4:05 and find that we couldn't get in. Huge sigh. We strolled around the grounds, walked up to see some other ruins and looked for some of Rome's famous feral cats. Bryce snapped this gorgeous picture of the Colosseum as we walked away. Would we try to return the next day to see the inside? We just couldn't decide.My favorite part of the day was sitting in front of the Pantheon, feeling the sunshine warm my face, literally feeling my body soak up the vitamin D and watching the scene. At that moment, I was actually in Italy.
More pictures here.
9 comments:
28 Euros! Holy Cow! I hope it was good coffee and juice :o) Love the photos and experiencing Rome through your blog. I hope to get there one day myself. Thanks for sharing.
Love reading about your Italian adventure (I am bookmarking these posts for our own use!). Sorry about the Colosseum and how crazy about those cats....are there thousands every where?
It is very strange. We saw lots of cats in the public parks - LOTS. Bryce had told Eva there were cats in the basement of the Colosseum and we did see one (you'll hear about that in the next post :))
Wow! I wondered if those were post card pictures until I read that Bryce had "snapped" that last one. Beautiful!
I SO WANT TO SEE ITALY! I can't wait. :)
Everytime I think about the Pantheon, that reminds me when I was in Rome - in the Pantheon, obviously. Imagine: I look at its ceiling (as one should), then I turn my head on the right and my eyes meet an American tourist, also looking at the ceiling. And then I recognize him: it was the guy who played (or still plays, I don't know) the evil character of Clark in "The Bold and the Beautiful" (that I used to watch with my grandma as a mind-resting break when I was studying for my final exams at University). That was just totally surreal, and the Pantheon and Clark are now forever linked in my mind...
I lOVE that story, Catherine. Sounds like a perfect story for a soap opera . . . ha!
What a cool way to see the world. Your children will have wonderful memories.
I was excited on your Flickr to see you were from Seattle, I'm IN Seattle,this week, and thought maybe I'd see some photos then go SEE the stuff. Not so fast, you are far away :)
Ahh...I'm dreaming while reading your blog right now...love love love your shots of Italy. Thanks for the beauty.
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