Roaming around in Rome

Rome has to be experienced on foot.  My previous two times in Rome were so quick and brief, I felt that I did not see Rome at all.  This time we had plenty of time to roam from alley to alley,  fountain to fountain, and curious structures to curious structures.

Our hotel was only a couple of blocks away from Roma Termini.  We walked the whole area including Republic Bacilica, Villa Medici, Quatro Fonatna, Piazza Barberini, Piazza Venezia, etc. on the first day:

 The church on the right was where we went to see the opera "La Traviata" one evening.

The three bees coat of arm:

The second day we explored the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Quirinale, Fountain of Trevi, Pantheon, etc

Then a whole day was spent in the Coliseum, and the streets nearby:

 The underground, including the system that hoisted the animals up to the arena:

 Some original marble seats:

But I enjoyed the most walking on the ground of Forum the following day.  It made me feel so close and personal to the ruins.:

 The Roman senators used to meet in this building:

Another day we explored the Piazza Navova, the flower market, and the Trastevere area across the Tiber river:

 We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant by the flower market:

 We wanted to walk to the fountain of truth

And we ran into this Teatro di Marcello totally by accident.  Does it not look like the Coliseum?

 The Three Bees coat of arm turned out to belong to the Barberini family, who became prominent between 1530 - 1559:

 From the top of the Via del Campidoglio, I saw the Forum being lighted up in the early evening:

 We went across the bridge to Trastevere, and had dinner in a restaurant,  but did not see much of Trastevere, and decided that we need to go back during the daylight.

The following day we visited Nero's Golden House, which is underground, and went back to Trastevere in the afternoon:  Some frescoes in the Golden House were fabulous.

It was fun just wonder around in Trastevere:

 We had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant in Trastevere.  Hope had her limoncello:

There was a beautiful basilica, Bacilica Papale Santa Maria Maggiore,  near our hotel. We paid a visit one morning.  It was said that the gold decor in the church was brought back by Columbus during his first journey to America.

We also saw an opera one evening.  I particularly enjoyed the baritone who played the father.