roamin' bus to boat

There was a woman who took notes... and I was never that person. I learned my lesson! Never again will I not have a pen and pad of paper in hand... 

I can't remember what the heck these buildings are.. but aren't they lovely? ha!

There were 'ruins' everywhere. Rome is called "The Eternal City" because there is no chronological order to their buildings in the city; they build and they preserve. Just behind this picture, there was a person lying on the street near the sidewalk, surrounded by policemen (he'd just been hit by a car or vespa - we never found out! hopefully he was just fine... yikes!).

Below, the tour guide called this the "ancient facebook" where people would congregate to share ideas, opinions and social updates. I thought that was a clever metaphor.

First glimpse of the Colosseum, or the real name we learned, the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was interesting to hear all about what went on inside.. I'm both sad and relieved that I never got to/ had to witness it. Only that 'naughty girls' were allowed inside the walls, so the 'eligible girls' (the ones that men would want to marry) would go sit in a nearby park and hear updates as they'd come.. crazy things, right?

It was a beautiful structure:

But even more beautiful, is my sister! Aww:

Look at how HUGE those statues of the saints are on top.. sooo big.. I'm glad I wasn't in charge of hoisting those things up there:

Then it was off to the ship for us. We were both awestruck:

The fun continued:

We weren't alone looking like idiots:

* a special prize should be given to anyone who notices all the weird things in these pictures. There are plenty of odd looks from strangers, plumber pants.. or.. you name it, you'll probably spot it!