Our first stop, the Pantheon. Just like many of the other sights in Rome, you are walking along between modern buildings and all of the sudden this ancient structure is in front of you. I was astonished at how huge it is! The pantheon was built as a temple to the gods, but Christians rededicated it as a church in the 7th century. It also contains crypts of the first 2 Kings of Italy and the artist Raphael. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.
The beautiful ceiling. Completely open, so the inside is always exposed to the weather. The hole in the ceiling is 142 feet in diameter.
After the Pantheon we headed over to Piazza Navona, built in the first century A.D it is one of the most famous squares in Rome. It was once used as an open stadium for games. Now it is a popular attraction of tourists and artists. Callie and I each found some beautiful, and inexpensive, watercolor paintings for souvenirs.
We then headed over to the Trevi Fountain to take more pictures and to toss in a coin. We were able to get more pictures, but it was difficult to enjoy as the crowds were so big and vendors kept coming up to us trying to sell us stuff. Very annoying. But it was nice to see the fountain in daylight, and we weren't there for long anyways.
Tossing a coin in over my shoulder for good luck. Not sure I tossed it over the correct shoulder, but it must have been lucky because I got hired on for a new job the day after we got back!
Our last stop for the day was the Spanish Steps. We were glad we made it our last stop for the day because it was further away from the other sights and was very lovely in the evening light. Located near the high end shopping district, we also took some time to visit some of the stores, and I even found some Italian leather gloves to bring home to Phillip! (I got myself a pair too!)
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