Italy Day 2

Day 2 in Italy. Still can't get the pictures where I want them, but we'll deal with it. This is Piazza Navona. Beautiful plaza where there are no cars!! So peaceful.

This is the outside of the Pantheon. Took tons of pictures inside and it simply isn't possible to get the feeling of how amazing the marble and the statues and paintings are. And it's a functioning church. Cool, huh?

The restaurant my brother Mike and I ate at in the Piazza Navona. (Mike's sitting at the center table with a cap on.) We returned here in the evening after visiting the Pantheon. During dinner, I suddenly realized, we're sitting in an outdoor restaurant, eating dinner together in Rome, Italy. Who'd'a thunk?

The Coliseum at night. Beautiful. We haven't toured it yet, but we plan to maybe Saturday.

Okay, so here's the day in a nutshell. My brother Mike's been in Rome since Sunday. Today was our day to meet up. I began my drive into Rome and got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam. 40 minutes going 0-10 kph AND you have to visualize Italian driving --- 3 lanes mean 5 cars fit side by side and motorcycles go between cars - both beside cars and in front of cars. If they can almost fit, they're there. So, after 40 minutes I turned around and returned to Capena. About an hour later I started off again figuring the traffic would be fixed. No problems getting into Rome, but it's unbelievably crowded and frustrating to drive in the city. I was stuck at a light with cars forcing their way in and became frustrated. I looked to my left and saw a lovely elderly lady probably in her 80's looking cool and collected in her little Smart car. I lifted my chin and thought, "If she can do it, so can I." I motored on and found a place to park. Literally cheered when I saw a little blue sign with a big P on it and an arrow. (Signs are few and far between in Italy.) I parked and suddenly realized I had no idea where I was. Started thinking...... "If I get on a bus, how will I ever get back here?" I sat down and cried for a minute, called Mike and told him Rome won, I couldn't do it. I was frustrated again. He said he'd call me back, checked the bus schedule, found a way to the Olympic Stadium (I walked around until I realized I was near there) and told me he'd come rescue me!!! Yea!!! I changed my attitude and enjoyed browsing around while waiting for him to find me. My hero!! We had originally planned to meet at around 9am and finally hooked up around 2pm.

The rest of the day was a blast! Mike walks fast and doesn't let any thing slow him down -- including my stopping to take pictures. He showed me some beautiful places. Words truly can't describe the churches and other areas. So much to see.... it's sort of like visual overload. Too much to take in. Mike had researched lots of things and was my guide through Rome. He knew the "back stories" of many places we saw. Too much to share, too many photos to post here.

So............... we found the car, had a blissfully uneventful drive back here to Capena, he's staying with me and we're off to find Cortona tomorrow.

All in all, a wonderful day, in spite of a rough beginning. Perserverance and a little attitude change work wonders. AND Mike got tickets to the ballet for us for Saturday night. Sounds fun, right?