Roma, the city in which we never slept

First impressions of Rome. Via Urbana, right outside our hostel.

Campo dei Fiori, where we hung out every night. Young crowd, plenty of bars, pizza shops and gelato joints. The statue in the middle is of a man named Bruno. Bruno was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church a few hundred years back, and the Vatican decided it would be a nice gesture to place a very stern-looking statue of him in the exact place where he lost his life.

We three got separated from the herd without any idea where we were or where we should go. We eventually found a cabby who wouldn’t give us a ride because we were so close to our hostel. Stumbled upon these ruins on our way home, mixed in perfectly with the rest of this modern, buzzing city.

According to Elon, this statue is the ugliest in all of Rome. It was considered so bad by its commissioner that it was left standing as a permanent embarrassment for the sculptor.

Spence and Alex with Emma, a very nice Aussie traveling for 13 months by herself! One of the most intrepid, free-spirited people we’ve met so far.

Obviously Elon told Tony something that Tony didn’t believe. Behind them are some friends of Emma, Alan and Kate, who are also from Australia. They spent their last day in Europe walking around Rome with us, even put up with our endless search for a non-touristy place to eat. Good people.

One excellent thing about Rome, aside from ruins, sculptures and great food, is the abundance of public water fountains. You can drink from them unless they say otherwise, and the water is crisp, clear and very cold. A better option than the 2 euro bottled water.

A shot across a bowl-shaped fountain near the Coliseum. The green specks on the pool’s bottom hinted we should not drink this water.
The fountain outside the Coliseum, four sided with a face spitting water on each side. An obelisk stolen from Egypt sits atop it

Same fountain, but shot from underwater.

The Pantheon. The first day we showed up it was closed, but the return trip was well worth the 15 minute walk.

Walking into the Pantheon. It was rebuilt three times and the front of the structure is all that remains of the original Roman craftsmanship after it was claimed by the church a few hundred years ago. Rafael is buried under the statue on the left.

Light pouring in from the oculus centered in the Pantheon’s dome.

Standing on a bridge over the Tiber. Yes, that’s a tire.

Yes, he plans on eating fish out of the Tiber.

Italian kids playing soccer against a church wall. An adult came out and made them stop, ruining a very close game. The kid kicking the ball is a prodigy.


Minus one.

Marcus Aurelius atop a 50 ft. column depicting his life’s story.


Marcus Aurelius, as told by stone.

The Trevi Fountain, plus some random jackass who stood up just in time to ruin the photo.

Sitting on the Spanish Steps, checking up on the homeland via Alex’s broken-Italian translation.

Spanish Steps. The boys are on the bottom left.

Walking into the Capitoline Museum. Castor and Pollux guard the museum’s entrance.

Brutus.

Medusa, as Bernini saw fit.

Commodus as Hercules. The story goes that Commodus would round up the old, crippled men of Rome in the Coliseum, dress himself as Hercules and beat them to death with a club. Nice guy, huh?

The real Hercules.

The Forum ruins, seen from the Capitoline museum.

The Coliseum from the second level. At its pinnacle this place could hold more screaming fans than Raymond James Stadium. Believe it.

Relaxing outside Villa Bourghese.

St. Peter’s, Vatican City.

Inside St. Peter’s. This place is beyond all explanation, comprehension even. Everything looks like it was carved or painted by the hands of God. I have no idea who the couple is or why I took a photo of them.

By a stroke of blind luck we showed up at St. Peter’s on the same day as the Spanish Bishop, seen here giving a sermon. He had an entire procession lead him into the building, complete with swinging incense and everything. It was really quite a sight for a group of heathens like us

Worth 1,000 words, easy.


MEGAPHONE!!! Men roaming the streets constantly tried to sell us trinkets like this. Eventually, we caved.


It’s Tony Time. All the time.

Tony couldn’t walk, so I had to give him a lift. We are very drunk. Look at the pure excitement and joy on that little boy’s face.

Eating pizza from Pizza Florida, near Largo Argentina.

Stay tuned, your regularly scheduled Cinque Terre programming is just around the corner.