June 14th, Bike ride tour with Marco. These are our bikes outside his shop. Should be fun navigating Rome traffic and cobblestone roads in a place we are unfamiliar with. Tanner already has a stomach ache thinking about it.

                      The typical mode of transportation in Rome, a vespa.

  The all important Nasoni, Tyler's new love. The water is so cold and so good.

The way the locals drink and not the foreigners. Plug the bottom and it works just like a waterfountain. Tyler liked to see which one would shoot the furthest much to the surprise of passing tourist.

This is Palatine Hill where the rich and famous lived back in the day. They were called the "huts of Romulus", the huge Imperial Palace overlooking Circus Maximus. We get our word palace from this hill.

Palatine Hill behind us and Circus Maximus below us. Circus Maximus is now just a big hole in the ground surrounded by the outline of dirt. Romans were great recyclers. Dad would be proud. When an era was gone, a new group would come in and pilpher material from surrounding buildings to build what they wanted to. That is what happened to all the materials in Circus Maximus which once was a chariot course that seated 300,000 spectators.

This was an ampitheatre that Julius Caesar started called Teatro Marcello. The groud was cleared and then he was murdered so Cesaer Augustus finished the white portion. The Romans were great at recycling buildings too. If one group didn't finish it, another would come along and build on unfinished or toppled buildings. There are currently apartments on the second and third floor of this structure. During Cesaer Augustus' time, the ampitheatre was used for plays and other forms of art unlike the Colosseum which was just for the sport of killing.

                                             Streets of Rome. Bellissimo!

                                        St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

A view off of the bridge headed to the stronghold, Castel Sant' Angelo, that would house the Vatican's important figures in times of attacks. This is over the Tiber River. When the Vatican was being attacked, the important clergy would head over to this building and wait for the fighting to end.

This is a view on th bridge to the stronghold. All the angels lining this bridge were created by Bernini.

Each of the twelve angels holds something important to the crucifiction of Christ. This holds the cross, others hold the cloth, nails, sword, crown, sponge of vinegar, ect.