Roman Holiday I

Hi Guys, so, a few months ago I left the green shores of Ireland and travelled to the eternal city to see what all the fuss was about. I guess I also went to see Fiona - she's in the odd picture below. My first attempt was kyboshed by that unpronouncible Icelandic volcano so, rather than greeting Fiona when she arrived in Europe, I farewelled her (ahhhh). And here is the first photo I took. It needs no explanation, but ... SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus = The Senate and the People of Rome. These letters were carried by the legions on their standards, throughout europe, 2000 years ago. And here they are again, still emblazoned on the manhole covers of modern Rome - cool eh? The alternative explanation is that this is an artifact about 2000 years old, but you can make your own mind up about that.So, Rome is full of i) Romans ii) Tourists and iii) History. N.B Romans may be Italians but, Italians are not necessarily Romans. My personal experience, with which I think that Fiona would agree, is that Romans, i), are far more pleasant than one expect given the IMMENSE number of ii) trying to get a grip on the STUPENDOUS amount of iii). A nice smile, a little effort, a little modification of behaviour so that you perform a task the way the locals would prefer, pay for your gelati first, gives great rewards. Don't knock extra gelati. Anyways, here are three buildings. The first is (I think) is the back end of the temple/structure commemorating Victor Emmanuel. The second, the colosseum, still standing because it was blessed and consecrated by one of the Popes, and this couldn't be pillaged for stone. It also was nice touch of Hah! given that the Roman Empire had slaughtered who knows how many Christians there and the church and finally triumphed. This last photo is an attempt at being artisitic with the columns surrounding St Peters. Early on a Monday there were few people about and I rather like it.