Day 2 Rome

Day 2 started at breakfast.  A limited affair of bread rolls etc and….how many Ballard boys does it take to boil an egg? Three, one to watch, one to time and one to offer advise.  The result? an uncooked egg!

Off on the guided 3 hour walking tour of Rome.  Places of interest started with the Popes personal escape bridge from the Vatican apartments to his private castle.

We next crossed over the river Tiber on the Bridge of Angels.

We continued to the Piazza Navona.  This square was created by a Pope Innocent X where It features important sculptural and architectural creations: in the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Bernini, topped by the Obelisk of Domitian, brought here in pieces from the Circus of Maxentiuson.  This square was built on the remains of the old site of a large Roman Olympic stadium!

Onto the Pantheon, lunch and more wandering through small sides streets to the Fountains of Trevi, which Italian fashion company Fendi has sponsored a 20-month, 2.2-million-euro restoration of the fountain, so disappointingly it was shrouded in scaffold and plastic, being cleaned….. and….. how many Ballard boys does it take to toss a coin into the empty fountain…Three, one to watch, one to toss and one to offer advise. The result? 2 wasted coins and one success.

Off to morning coffee with the Pope tomorrow, we hope he is in!