Rome by ourselves

Even though we were all very tired we resisted the temptation to sleep in and got up early. We had our breakfast and caught the Sheraton shuttle bus into the center of Rome at 8am. We got dropped off just near this building that we had driven past quite a few times. It is Vittorio Emanuele Monument. The Romans do not like it and wish it was more inconspicuous and it has a few nicknames "Rome's False Teeth" and "The Wedding Cake". It was built from 1885 to 1911 to celebrate the unification of Italy...

Just a short walk away was The Forum ruins...

The Arch of Septimius Severus...

Next to the Arch are the columns of one of Rome's earliest temples, The Temple of Saturn...

As it was so early in the morning there weren't many people about yet so we had a bit of fun with self timer photos...

We could also see the Colosseum up the road but didn't go back to it...

We then walked the cobblestone streets to the Trevi Fountain again. It was so crowded last time we went on the tour so it was nice to see it with a few less people...

Another water fountain from the ancient days still used...

One last attraction of Rome we hadn't been to was The Spanish Steps. These are one of the most popular meeting spots for the Romans. The steps ascend in three tiers to the 16th century church Trinita dei Monti and at the base of the steps is a marble fountain in the shape of a sinking boat called Fontana della Baraccia...

We sat on the steps for a while in the shade as it was getting very hot very quickly!

The view from the top of the steps...

We did a bit of souvenir shopping then went to a huge McDonalds for a rest and drink. This was nothing like a McDonalds here in fact you would hardly believe it was as the decor and setout were beautiful. We then wandered the streets doing some shopping...

After a bit of lunch (pizza again) we went back to my favourite building in Rome - The Pantheon and it was just as incredible seeing a second time as the first...

Having seen all the sights we wanted to there was still one mission left to accomplish - Janelle's RED shoes from Italy! And we were slowly running out of time. Luckily Sarah had great eyes and spotted just the pair...

Well done Sarah! Feeling relieved we did a bit more shopping (I got a pair of red sandles) and then Peter announced he was all shopped out so we caught the shuttle back to the motel. We had a bit of a rest then went and sat by the pool and relaxed. Janelle and I hadn't had our Italian coffee yet so we did that...

We couldn't be bothered moving so we had dinner there as well. Then it was time for the dreaded job of packing all our stuff up for the flights home. Janelle and Sarah got side tracked trying on their new stuff...

I had to get a shot of my tanned feet from wearing my sandles everyday...

After much sorting we got the cases packed ready for an early pickup in the morning.