Rome, again...

On Saturday, we (me, the kids and Tobin) went to Rome. Tobin had been there only once and we had seen the Ancient Roman sites...so back we went to catch a few sights before our departure...which is quickly approaching. Once again, we take the train into Rome. This is my fourth time on the train and it was shockingly empty. I could actually see the sign that showed which stops were next.

A side note: The train station in Rome is called Roma Termini...this is because all the trains come into it from one direction and stop...end of the line. Well, our train comes in from the north and circles the city on the west side and swoops into the termini (this means that the train is actually heading north or back to Montalto...the train then has to back out of the station). Well, as the train circles the city there are a number of stops in the various neighborhoods of Rome. Usually we take the train to Termini and then walk or take the Metro to where ever we are going.

So, back to Saturday...we are headed to the Vatican...long train ride, a long walk to the Metro, and a Metro ride to the right spot, then another walk...I notice the next stop is Roma San Pietro. Could that be St. Peter's Square? I break out my handy maps and Tobin found the station and we jump off the train. It was a quick 4 block walk to St. Peter's! It only took 4 trips, but what a short cut! I felt like a local! We got there before all the tourists, in the cool part of the day, there was NO line!!!! Go us!

St. Peter's Basilica...notice the line as we are leaving the square...

Walking along the same route as I went with the kids, here is Ponte San Angelo and Castel San' Angelo...

The Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Navona...

The Pantheon...

Sorry for the duplicate pictures, but some of them were better than the last time I went through. Here is something new...more Roman ruins...

This is the Victor Emmanuel Monument...like the tomb of the unknown soldier...

Trajan's column and some churches...

Trajan's Market...

A quick Metro ride...

And we find ourselves at St. Paul's Basilica...Tobin's favorite so far (you have to ask him why)...

The inside of said Basilica...

And because we are such cool locals we walked through one of the neighborhoods and found another train station to go home on...and Rome's only pyramid...

So there you have it, another crazy adventure through Rome! We even got home in time to make dinner! It is kind of nice to finally start to feel like we know enough to be even more adventurous in our exploring...beyond the 'normal' tourist stuff. I think I will make it to Rome one last time...Pat hasn't seen the Vatican yet...but now I know the short cut!

Ciao a tutti!