A FUNNY THING HAPPENED...

...on the way to the forum. (Not really. All went seriously mundane and well.)

It is after midnight, and I was unable to log onto the hotel's computer, so no photos today.

We awoke late and feasted on the Marriott's breakfast buffet. They cater to a very international crowd and have something for everyone: American, French, German and Japanese. The hotel is currently holding a convention for tobacco shop owners.

It was 11:00 am when we headed out to the local bus stop. That was very interesting to go through the suburbs in our area and see how the locals go about their business. Andrea is amazed at how many people speak English, even off the beaten tourist path. A man, unprompted, overheard us, and told us when and where to make our transfer from the bus to the metro.

Our first tourist stop was the Coloseum. Our Roma passes certainly paid off, as we skirted the long queue and headed right in. It is a magnificent structure with great views of the forum, Comstantine's Arch and Titus's arch. While Andrea is a virtual font of historical and art info, I had to buy a book in Ancient Rome and the Coloseum to satisfy my curiosity and have some of my questions answered.

We walked up the Palatine Hill and visited a small church atop it. I then had to reclimb it after I realized I had left our camera in the Church! Thankfully, an Indian family had seen it, and since ther was no one to leave it with in the church, they took the camera, and handed it off to me when they recognized me running back up the hill.

I then proceeded to lose Andrea's very nice, laminated map of Rome. Dio mio!

After a sandwich on the street, we made our way up the Via Fori Imperioli to Trajan's forum and his column. On our way to the Capitoline Museum, we gawked at Il Vittoriano. We were in the museum until nearly 7:00 pm, and then wandered the area along Via Cavour. Totally charming as the Romans gathered for apertivos in bars and along the streets.

We had a fine meal at Gli Angelleto's, squeezed between two German couples as we ate outside along a small sidestreet. My first course was spaghetti in olive oil with rosemary, sun dried tomatos and pine nuts followed by sliced angus beef with gorgonzola and leeks. Andrea just had a sald with penne puntanesca. Red wine and water helped wash it all down, followed by Andrea's gelato of nutella at a nearby gellateria.

We walked to the Cavour Metro stop and began our long journey home, arriving at 11:00 pm.

It is now nearly 1:00 am. Andrea is already asleep, and I must sign off so we can awake and get an early start for our 11:00 am appoinment at the Borghese Gallery. Bonna Notte!