Roma!

Turns out that May 1st is a holiday in Italy and all the tourist exhibits are closed on that day. We wanted to go into the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Instead we used the first day to see the exterior of these sites.
Spencer enjoyed heckling with lame vendors and getting mouthy with locals that try to rip off tourists. It really is advantageous to have someone with you who knows the language.

Nice
Spencer insisted that I replace my sunglasses with a straighter, more stylish pair. Mine have sat crooked on my face for over a year now. It never bothered me though. $7 is that a good price for knock-off sunglasses?
Spencer saw this guy and said, "hey there's a Back Street Boy." To me the guy looked like the vaguely familiar dirty one so I thought he was joking, saying that someone was trying to pull off that look. We kept seeing him around the Colosseum and Spencer insisted that he was an actual Back Street Boy. With his "friend" 10 or so feet away from him I approached him and asked if he was a Back Street Boy or if he just looked like one. He said that he was. They had done a concert in Rome the previous night and he had the day off to tour the city. His "friend" was his body guard. Spencer thinks that another Back Street Boy was with him at one point, the Carter one, but this is the one we approached, AJ...something, or as I call him behind his back, "the dirty one."
We had our picture with him too, but all that footage is gone now.
The Roman Forum from afar.The Roman Sky line from the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

Piazza Navona. Suzy and I look over the prints of various artists. The piazza is full of artists drawing portraits on the spot or selling mass produced prints. It is fun to look around at the art and the lot of weirdos on site.
The Pantheon was closed but we were able to look at its exterior and more weirdos who smoke a lot. EVERYONE who is from Italy or comes to Italy smokes. I thought I would throw out that little piece of trivia for you all.
Here we are, walking the people-filled streets of Rome.

Here's a fun story. Spencer and I went in to buy some tee shirts for our kids. As we were choosing our shirts, Mark came in and asked about a shirt. The shirt had a flaw and so Mark tried to negotiate for a lower price . The two workers went from helpful and lackadaisical to irate and belligerent in about 5 seconds. Mark got the final jab in when he smiled and snapped this picture. I laugh every time I see it.Trevi fountain. If you were to zoom out on this picture you would see a crowd of 20,000 in a small piazza. Lunatic tourists ruining my trip :)

There are roads that connect the city, but in this area they are so full of people that driving is not really possible.

Ah, an American icon in Italy. This McDonalds was pretty upscale and well taken care of. It was also the cheapest place to eat in all of Italy. We love you McDonalds. Thanks for taking care of your loyal America customers around the world.

The scaffolding-covered Piazza di Spagna, or Spanish Steps. What a disappointment to come upon this when you are expecting something more grandiose. In this picture it looks like a parking lot high rise. Sorry Mark and Suzy, you got shafted.

Although the Spanish Steps were unrecognizable, we were all able to drink from Barcaccia Fountain, a fountain that is still fed by the Roman aqueducts.
After it got dark we found the Bocca della Verita (the mouth of truth) and took a picture from behind the the gate.