Roma: Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps

When in Rome, do as the Romans (and the hordes of fellow tourists) do...and at night, that means visiting either Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps.

Trevi Fountain is a beautiful and massive Baroque fountain in Rome that is a good place for getting badgered to buy worthless tourist swag and also a particularly interesting place to be on the eve of the Champions League final. We took our pictures while listening to Brits/Scots and Spaniards exchanging cheers for their teams. (Barcelona won.)



Meanwhile, the Spanish Steps are also a nice place where people go to sit, socialize, and watch others. (However, this fact from Wikipedia is revealing of their tourist credentials - they're right next to the site of the very first McDonald's in all of Italy.) The top - near the obelisk - provided more nice views of soccer fans waving their banners and sporting their jerseys.



More pictures from Rome are of course on Flickr, though there's more posts to come.

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...

Verona, a short day trip from Milan or Venice, should be visited for so many reasons that have nothing to do to with Romeo and Juliet.

1. The train ride through hundreds of acres of vineyards and beautiful countryside


2. Roman Ruins - city gates, an arena, and a theater
   

3. Beautiful Bridges with lovely views
   
4. Picturesque squares with plenty of sidewalk cafes to enjoy the local wines: Amarone & Soave
   
5. Sweeping views of the Italian countryside from the handful of towers
   
6. Walks down narrow cobblestone streets and staircases
   
7. The castle on a hill
   
8. Stunning and diverse architecture
   

When in Rome...

Side Portal of the Original City Gate, 50AD

Well, not exactly Rome, but rather a city built in Roman times. The main street through Koln dates back 2000 years and the city was officially recognized by the Roman Empire in 50AD (AKA - made apart of the Roman Empire).

To explore its Roman routes we visited the Roman-Germanic Museum. The highlights of the museum were a mosaic floor from a Roman merchant's house the museum was actually built around and the original arch from the city gate. Apparently if you are important enough, like one of the leaders of the G8 countries, you can enjoy a meal in the museum in the mosaic floor room. We ate our sandwiches outside, under the arch - way cooler! Mosaic FloorRoman Bust