September 6, 2008

FIRST DAY IN ROME

Wow! what an afternoon we had in Rome. I can't believe the size of the churches we went in and we have not even gone to the big ones yet. Also the huge Plaza's and Fountains as well. Jim and I really enjoyed spending time with Jon Liles today during all of our sight seeing. After our tour we went out to eat pizza with the Liles family. I have to say that their true Italian Pizza was out of this world. I can't wait to try spaghetti and hopefully Lasagna before we leave. We even happened to be walking up to a church right when a wedding was starting. And you know us... we snuck inside to watch the ceremony and take some pics. We thought about crashing the reception but we decided that we better not.

1 Ikea store near Jon and Becky's house. It looks like it is about two blocks long
2 Jim, Jon and myself in front of a Baptist church near the Pantheon
3&4 The Pantheon. Built 31 BC originally and rebuilt after a fire in 125AD. In 609AD it was given to Pop Boniface the 4th who converted it into a Catholic Church. There are several people buried there including Artist Rafael and two Kings and one Queen of Italy. It is the oldest standing Dome structure in Rome
5 The Spanish Steps - A tourist attraction
6 A lot of people below the Spanish Steps
7&8 Piazza Del Popolo and Church in the Plaza. This is a large area they have outdoor concerts and gathering since the open area is so large.
9-21 All the churches we went inside
22-24 The wedding we watched
25 Trevi Fountain - all of this was carved out of one piece of marble


No comments: