The one with all the Churches

Yesterday was probably the second best day in my (Rachel's) entire life. Today was pretty cool too.

Caillou sneaked into our suitcase as we were packing for Rome. He really wanted to see Rome, so we decided to take him out and around the city for the day. We have been using a guide book. Inside we found a "heart of Rome" tour, which we decided to do, backwards.

We first went to the Spanish Steps. They were really big and covered in people and flowers. We sat there for a bit reading the guide book and taking in the sites. Then the people with their so-annoying-I-want-throw-them-far-far-away selfie sticks became too much to watch, so we continued walking.  More on that later. Because. Ugh. Selfie-sticks.  Caillou wanted to buy one, but we said no.

Then we went over to the Italian Parliament. In this square and several others we walked through, they was a giant Egyptian Obelisk. Apparently the Romans would go around conquering other people, like the Egyptians, and then bring home "spoils" from that land. These often included their Obelisks. Because who doesn't look at a giant marble tower and think "I want that, just load it onto the boat and we will be on our way."  Some of these were carved with pictures depicting the various battles. The attention to detail in the carvings was truly impressive.

After that, Caillou got a little tired from the walking. So we stopped into Rome's oldest and top coffee shops. In Rome, they drink Espresso like Americans drink drip coffee, except faster. We ordered our drinks and standing at the bar drinking them (They don't have tables in coffee shops. Coffee is not something to linger over.)  and an Italian woman came in, got her drink, threw a packet of sugar and downed the drink in less than 5 minutes. Caillou wanted to try the coffee too, but he didn't like it very much. He preferred Rachel's hot chocolate instead.

After that, we wondered over to the Pantheon. Did you know it is a Church? We didn't either. The building is quite deceiving. From the outside, it looks small and old. In the inside, however, there is a huge, very impressive dome. Apparently that dome inspired the one on St. Peter's and the Senate in Washington, DC. The pillars holding the front were Redwood-tree large. Rachel tried to reach around them, but it didn't work.

Caillou got hungry after all that walking. So we grabbed some pizza nearby and sat outside on the fountain steps to eat lunch and watch the people go by. Between the tour-groups with matching hats, peddlers selling selfie-sticks, sunglasses and cell-phone cases, and the Italian people just trying to get through, it made for great lunch-time entertainment.

After that, we took a detour to see two churches in the area. The Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva had a really cool statue of Jesus holding the cross done by Michelangelo.

The second was the church of San Ignazio. It had some incredible perspective paintings and a couple of really neat side alters.

Afterwards we wondered out way through the streets of Rome, really getting a feel for the city. We ended up in a major shopping area filled with street vendors and artists. Caillou wanted to go shopping and get a caricature done. We didn't want to carry all the stuff with us so we moved on to find a gelato place recommended to us.

It was amazing. There was a line out the door so you knew it had to be good. It was eating this amazing gelato that we determined Nick sucks at eating Gelato.

Our last stop of the day was the neighborhood of Trastevere. It is a part of Rome just across the river that hasn't been touched by the tourist culture the rest of the city can take on. You walk along the narrow streets that are perfectly Italian looking. Everyone's laundry is hanging out from the windows and everyone is speaking Italian. It's like the North End of Rome. We wondered around for a while then went to Santa Maria of Trastevere. It was a beautiful church with these amazing golden mosaics behind the alter. The mosaic was one of the first to depict Mary in Heaven with Jesus. Rachel's favorite part was the tabernacle UNDER the alter.

 

 

 

After that, it was time to grab a drink and a meal. We found our first restaurant that just served drinks. It was wonderful to sit outside on the piazzia  and watch the world go by for a little while. After drinks, we went to a restaurant we had seen earlier with a bunch of Italians sitting outside singing Italian songs. The waitress could barely speak English, which we have discovered means the best kind of meal. We enjoyed our food complete with a bottle of wine (only 18 euro!) the Italian way: Slowly with good company.