Father's Day at the Forum

Our first full day in Rome was Father's Day, so naturally, the dads decided on our itinerary. We had a full, full day exploring Capitoline Hill, The Forum and The Colosseum. Wow!! Seriously impressive ruins and magnificent buildings. It was overwhelming, there was so much to see! Pete, our resident Classics major gave us history tidbits along the way and was in total history nerdom heaven! Pete had been to Rome before as part of his Europe trip after college so he had seen the major sites already, but was still thrilled to visit again.  The rest of us were total newbies. Pictures are below, but first an ode to two wonderful fathers. 

Great dads....

Look cool without (??) trying. 

Prepping for the day ahead

Flex their muscles when needed. 

Rome is not so stroller friendly.

Could easily pass as locals. 

"Mama Mia" 

Give piggyback rides on demand. 

I'm a little big, but my dad used to do this when I was a wee bit smaller.

Are fun to explore with. 

Are excellent at diapering. 

Make this girl very happy!

Happy Father's Day to two of the best!

Ok, now onto photos of the day.

Capitoline Hill

Oh, you know, just some super ancient frescos. NBD.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum...

Romulus and Remus statue. Brought me back to my high school latin class days. 

Arch of Septimius Severus. Pete dropping some Roman facts on Nana.

The Column of Trajan- Pete's favorite! 

Happy Historian. 

Pete enjoys Corinthian columns.

Looking down to the Forum.

Holy smokes, check out those ruins!

Trajan in front of his Forum. 

Jude post-lunch. Pay no mind to the undone button and fly. It is easy to over indulge in Italian food! 

This boy melts my heart. 

The arch of Titus. Heading into the Forum, ready to be wowed! 

Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina (though much of what you see now is a converted church).

Camera shy

Palatine Hill. The views over the forum were worth the hike in the heat! 

Once out of the Forum, we made a quick stop to the neighboring Colosseum, an impressive site. Though being there brought back memories from the bull fights we saw in Arles, France, which made me sad again.

There was a concert in the church next to our apartment that evening. Here, the singers rehearse in the square. 

Sunsetting on our neighbors