Roma: Day 3

If I had to describe our trip in one word, I think it would have to be Tripe.  Italy is the food capitol of world and Bologna is the capitol city of food.  We had some very good food in Bologna and even better food in Venice.  Rome, however, is more traditional.  Spaghetti, Penne, and other foods we are familiar.  The quintessential Roman meal is Tripe.  So, Jeff wanting to try to be Roman ordered said dish.  It is served breaded & fried with a cheese sauce.  Jeff tried some and then put some on my plate.  Believe it or not I did try it and took a few chomps and then realized it tasted like a dirty washcloth.  I couldn't spit it out, that would be rude, so I swallowed it whole.  Jeff then asked, "What do you think."  I said I don't like it and then he asked why.  I thought that was strange but I told him what I thought.  He said thanks.  Turns out he couldn't stomach it either and after I made my comment, all he could think was dirty washcloth.  So there is one thing Jeff won't eat, go figure.

Day 3: Museums, Churches, & Fountains

This day we went and saw St. Peter's Prison- Carcere Mamertino.  It was really neat, even though we didn't understand a word of the tour guide (all free guides are in Italian).  St. Peter was an amazing man to have suffered all his life in such a small prison cell and still come out preaching.

The next thing we did was go to the Musei Capitolini, on Capitol Hill.  Below is a picture of a bronze plaque that states the Powers of the Emperor, as well as The Dying Gaul statue that we saw while there. 

After the museum, we walked to Il Campo.  Il Campo is a piazza that usually holds an open air market in the mornings.  However, it is also where public executions took place during the Roman Empire.  Just a neat place to walk through.

Il Campo is also on the way to seeing the Pantheon.  The Pantheon is the oldest building in Rome.  It started as a pagan church and is now a Catholic church.  Because of the new Catholicism, all of the pagan statues that decorated the church have been removed.  This makes the Pantheon pretty bare bones and not very pretty.  However, the demon's hole in the ceiling is pretty cool.

After the Pantheon, we walked to Piazza Navona where Bernini's famous Fountain of 4 Rivers is located.  It was pretty incredible.  The Fountain of the 4 Rivers also continues are Angels & Demons tour.  This is Water, the last stop for Robert Langdon where he nearly drowns saving the Roman Cardinal.  Ummm sorry Dan Brown there about a million people in this piazza overlooking the fountain- not very likely to drown in it.

Next stop on our tour is the famous Illuminati Chapel- Castel St. Angelo.  Actually, Dan Brown was pretty accurate on this one.  The Castle was built as a mausoleum for Hadrian and Popes of his time period.  Over the years, after building St. Peter's, the popes decided it was a very good fortress so they built Il Passeto.  Written by Brown as a secret tunnel between St. Peter's and the Castle--seems to be very true.

Finally, we ended our day by eating the best Gelato in Rome at the Trevi Fountain.