Italy trip- When In Rome...

Of course no trip to Rome is complete without tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain.  Legend says you will return to Rome if you toss a coin into the fountain as long as you toss it over your shoulder with your back to the fountain.

Tarah definitely wants to return to Rome!

Lead by our fearless Navigator along the back roads of Rome, Ted always seems to know how to find his way around any big city.  Along the way we enjoyed Gelato, delicious Italiano ice cream.  Which, I have just learned has a higher sugar content and a lower butterfat content than American ice cream.

Next stop, the Pantheon. This current structure was built in 120 AD by Hadrian. A message can be seen over the door honoring the first temple built on the sight in 27 BC by emperor Marcus Agrippa, son-in-law of the emperor Augustus. The inside of the Pantheon is one big giant dome, the largest dome ever built in the world up to that time - 142 feet in diameter, and 142 feet from the floor to the top of the dome. To hold up this dome, the walls had to be made of brick and concrete 20 feet thick! The hole in the top of the dome - the oculus- is open to the sky and was the only light source for the temple. On rainy days the marble floor gets wet and is channeled away. The Pantheon now contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and of several Italian Kings.

There is more to see and understand in Rome than 3 days can give justice to but as we walked past the Colosseum all lit up at night one can't help but imagine the immense amount of history that these giant walls have stood through.