Roma - Waiting for Caelli...

With Caelli due to fly to Rome today, and us meeting her at 12.30pm, Phil and I went sightseeing to fill in the morning. First stop - San Giovanni in Laterano. It's a massive cathedral just inside the old city walls of Rome.  With some amazing sculptures on top of the facade and a massive interior, it was well worth going to visit.  So were the city walls!

Back on the metro, this time to Piazza del Popolo. This is the site of the old main northern entrance to Rome - yes, more old city walls! With several fountains and a genuine Egyptian obelisk, it's an interesting piazza. There are a couple of churches there that we looked in, too, and several more we found when walking down the Via del Corso. First, Santa Maria dei Miracoli,

Chiesa Gesu a Maria al Corso,

Chiesa San Giacomo in Augusta,

Chiesa dei Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso, which was filled with lots and lots of different coloured marble

and Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, which had a couple of lovely statues by Bernini..

We also saw the Spanish Steps

and the Trevi Fountain by daylight - both of them packed full of tourists.

We arrived at Termini station where we were meeting Caelli at 12.30pm, but no sign of Caelli. With shuttle buses running late, and us not realising there were two shuttle bus terminals at Termini...Caelli didn't arrive until 3pm. The chocolate teddy bear with the cup of tea was most appreciated. Off for a walk - starting from the Pantheon, which was built in AD127 as a pagan temple - the original dome - and then was transmogrified into other religions with the passage of time. The front facade couldn't be more different from the rear of the temple. The first two kings of Italy are buried here, as well as Raphael. (Caelli and I are in the first two photos.)

The Chiesa di Santa Maria sopra Minerva is Rome's only Gothic church, and was built upon an older church.

We had a quick look in Chiesa di San Ignazio before going (again!) to the Trevi Fountain (which was still packed, by the way!)

A quick look at Piazza Colonna and Palazzo Chigi (with TV reporters), before heading to the Vittorio Emanuele monument and a bus and tram home.

Gelato flavours today: crema (cream) and nocha (hazelnut). With Caelli at the Pantheon: coconut, tiramisu, strachiatella (choc chip), lemon and strawberry. For dessert: lemon, pineapple, vanilla, creme caramel and strachiatella.