Our Roman Holiday... Part 2: V.E.II Monument, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona.

Now in case I didn't clarify in Part 1, our trip was from Monday to Friday. Most of the first day was spent driving and most of the last day and into Saturday morning was spent on the return trip. We did all our site seeing in Rome in one day and all the site seeing in Florence on one day. The rest of the time was spent relaxing or driving. So, this second part of Rome was toured in the evening, after we had visited the Colosseum and Forum.

After the noon tour, we took a break and had some panini from a street vendor, and sat on the grass in front of the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument. We met our evening tour group on one of the side lawns in the front of the building. We had a brief lecture from our tour guide, Hannah from the Palatine tour, and then we were off walking again.

A front view of the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, followed by other angles and some statues.

Not duped by the Roman guard again, but took candid photos of him harassing this poor dog.

A glimpse of the Colonna Traiana and some of the domes across from it. The Colonna Traiana has carvings all the way up it that tell a story. They were very intricately detailed... I would have liked to get a better picture, but just didn't have the time.

This is the front of a church called the Basilica dei Santi Apostoli. The interior was amazing, but they were having mass so we couldn't go in, but got to look through the windows.

This was an apartment building we had to walk through to get to the fountain. The walls were all hand painted and intricate mouldings lined each floor and the windows. The building was owned by one of the big banking families... not the Medici, but just as old and prominent.

A marble inlay on the floor in the same building.

The ceiling in the building... still with the original framework and glass.

The Trevi Fountain.

Me in front of the fountain.

Meredith and Aidan at the fountain. Aidan was very unhappy by this point. She is pointing at a gelato shop across the street. We stopped and got her some before we left to appease her and try to keep her quiet until the end of the tour.

Meredith trying to ignore the screaming so that she could have a nice picture by the fountain.

This is the Tempio Adriano. It is interesting how they just built modern buildings right up next to it.

The Pantheon.

Me and Meredith inside the Pantheon.

"The eye of God" inside the Pantheon.

This dome was amazing! It is hard to believe that it has never needed to be worked on and has remained in pristine condition since it was erected.

Unfortunately, my camera was suffering from the continued exposure to heat and wouldn't focus correctly. I didn't notice until we had left the Pantheon... Have to get better pictures next time.

This one is kind of neat just because there was no flash and the colors of the marble show a bit better.

Aidan got the camera as we sat in this alcove in front of the Pantheon... Weird pictures!

More Aidan photography!

One of the many Roman obelisks... this one is in the piazza outside the Pantheon.

Pantheon.

Pantheon.

Yes, this is a McDonald's in the piazza outside the Pantheon. But the funny thing is, it used to be an infamous brothel. The brothels and taverns in the piazza were closed by papal authority in the 18th century because it tarnished the atmosphere of the Pantheon.

Piazza Navona.

Bernini's "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" or "The Fountain of the Four Rivers."

The four corner statues represent the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, and the Rio de la Plata.

Me and Aidan sitting at the "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi."

Aidan playing in the fountain water. It was gross, I think there was a dead pigeon in the water. Good thing I had some pocket sized hand sanitizer.

Meredith with the Egyptian obelisk from Bernini's fountain in the background.

The "Fontana del Moro" or the "Moor Fountain" at the south end of Piazza Navona.

Well, that is it for the Rome segment of our trip. Now it is on to Tuscany... Florence and Pisa. Check back in a week or so for that edition. It takes awhile to upload all the photos. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Until next time... Ciao!