Greece Day 12- Rome

We spent the entire day on a walking tour of Rome starting at the Spanish Steps. All of the things we are doing here in Rome are things we've already seen, but the Colosseum-- we have a guided tour of that but we've already seen it on our own when we came here 20 years ago on our Mediterranean Cruise. After the Spanish Steps we went to the Trevi Fountain and found some cute little Fiats on the way! Our guide pointed them out-- I guess they are always parked here and have become an icon in and of themselves! I didn't notice them last time we were here... We waited in a line to be able to throw a coin into the fountain. I don't think it really matters (obviously) because we have returned to Rome 3 times and this is the first time I've thrown a coin! Hahaha! Maybe it will mean the opposite and I will NEVER return to Rome! We got some really expensive gelato (because it's the Jubilee year for the Catholic church and everyone and their dog is here for the celebration at the Vatican this weekend-- UGH!!!) So that little gelato shop made BANK!! (And it wasn't even that great...) I don't have pictures, but we visited the ruins of the Forum and the Piazza Venezia. After we looked around for a bit we were given free time for lunch. We found a restaurant close by and a few of us stayed together and we got caprese salad with mozzarella de bufalo and a pizza. The caprese salad is different here-- they don't put basil on it! But it is so good and the cheese is amazing! After taking a break for lunch we met up and headed to the Colosseum and had a pretty in depth tour and explanation of that building! It was built with the spoils from Jerusalem when it was conquered in 70 AD! They used slave labor from the people there as well! It's funny because the Colosseum has since been pillaged by the Catholics who "borrowed" but really stole marble and bronze and other valuable things from it to build St. Peter's Basilica! So really St. Peter's Basilica is basically built from stuff from Jerusalem! Kind of ironic to me!!! Italians call this recycling, but I call it stealing! After the Colosseum we walked to the Pantheon-- not a short walk! Bill and I had done a pretty extensive tour of this building when we came in '24 so we found a seat at sat down to rest. We then walked to the bus which mercifully took us back to our hotel. We went to a different place for dinner. The food was Italian this time, but it wasn't the awesome Italian food I've had every time I've been there. There was a big mix up with how to order our food and everyone was so confused. They had to explain it at least 4-5 times! I became amused by the situation and it struck my funny bone and I COULD NOT stop laughing! But we had our dinner and then walked back to the hotel and crashed... starting to really look forward to going HOME!!! I'm ready for my own bed and have realized I don't like to travel this long-- I think my maximum is 10 days at the most, but I prefer 7 or 8!! This has been an amazing trip and we've been able to see so much, but I am a homebody! I just love to be in my own home, routine, bed, food... etc. etc.