With the business over the past few days we decided it was time for a slightly slower day. After sleeping in we walked over to Campo de’ Fiori to see its fruit/vegetable/spice market with more than a splash of tourist related items thrown in. The open air markets are one of Kim’s favorite things to check out on our journeys. After the marked we headed over to Piazza Navona. Once a roman circus, it was transformed into a Piazza, or square in the the 15th century and is home to the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Last time we were here this fountain was being renovated (something at each stop always is…), nice to catch it this time. Piazza Navona also has two other fountains and is also the location of the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, a church in the Baroque style.

After that we just wandered letting our legs and whims tell us where to go. Nice not to have an agenda. 🙂

Campo de’ Fiori and its market.

A sales woman and her products.

Tomatoes at the Campo de’ Fiori market.

PIne cones and chestnuts at the Campo de’ Fiori market.

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) in Piazza Navona.

Whatchu looking at?

Wandering into the evening…

Today was all about the Vatican. we took another Dark Rome Tour that was again informative and got us around many of the lines. We had to get to the Vatican early and were surprised on how busy it was before 8:00am. Nice tour of the Museum, The Sistine Chapel and St Peters. After the tour I managed to talk the ladies into climbing St. Peters Dome, exercise and a view all in one. Whew!

St Peters

Inside St. Peters.

Sydney inside St. Peters.

Top of the dome, Ma!

On the roof of St. Peters.

Lunch near the Pantheon

All I can say is not all WiFi systems are built the same…

It is nice to be in Rome in July… really! We have enjoyed the heat and the great mix of people that are visiting. The nights are vibrant, people are out having fun. Of course this means the monuments and museums are packed but with a little planning and $ for a private tour we managed to get around the worst of them. Kim set up a tour of the Roman Forum and Flavian Amphitheater with Dark Rome Tours. Our guide Francesca was very knowledgeable and Sydney and her got along well. Kim and I have been to to these locations before but it was nice to have details pointed out that we did not know in the ruins. Also the tour had access to parts of the amphitheater that are hard to visit, the rebuild floor, the underground and the very upper sections. Very nice.

After lunch we visited my favorite building in Rome, the Parthenon. Originally a pagan temple it became a church and because of that is well preserved. An interesting building, it is just the right size to be accessible, impressive but not imposing.

In the Roman Forum.

Palatine Hill.

The Forum from the Flavian Amphitheater.

The Flavian Amphitheater

Sydney and Francesca.

The Flavian Amphitheater

The Pantheon.