When in Rome......eat Roman noodles!

As planned, we arrived in Rome this morning, we caught the early train from Florence this morning and made it to our hotel before noon. That left us plenty of time to get some of the obligatory sights out of the way during our short stay. Before that, let me tell you that it is so dang hot here! Tomorrow is forecasted to be 97 and the humidity is basically the same as back home. With that out of the way, we jumped on the subway and started with the Piazza de Popolo and the twin sister churches, I took a ton of photos so you might be familiar with them. Then strolled down the shopping district that has every top name in fashion imaginable! I have never seen a pair a jeans that cost a $1,000 but they are here and everyone just clogs up the streets window shopping so we did the same. Eventually we made it to the Spanish Steps, did the obligatory climb to the top, snapped our photos and then continued our tour. The next stop was the Trevi fountain and the required toss of a coin over the shoulder to ensure you return. I am being rather short with our tour stops and description because the pictures do a better job than I do. After the fountain we strolled to the Pantheon and the 10 min walk was awesome in itself, obelisks that originated in Egypt and have been around for thousands of years were pretty cool to see. We found the Pantheon, which as expected was packed out but was still worth it. For something that is over 1,800 years old, it has weathered pretty well, not to mention the original doors are still on it. Next was the Piazza Navona and the Bernini fountains and street performers. Finally for the afternoon, we made it to the Castle Saint Angelo, which was originally built as a mausoleum for Hadrian and later was used as a refuge for the Popes when they were under attack and needed to hide. After a break during the late afternoon to let it cool down some, we grabbed some dinner and then walked over to the Vatican and St Peter’s square when it is not that crowded, the weather was great and there were maybe a hundred people there, so it was perfect. We actually have reservations to tour the Vatican museums in the morning and it helps that we are two blocks away, can see the top of the basilica from the hotel. So before the museum tour we are going to tour St Peter’s basilica when it isn’t that hot outside and we are supposed to wear long pants, keep in mind it is supposed to be 97 degrees! Wish us luck!!! Ciao.