I’m going to go off topic and posts some shots from our recent trip to Italy every so often. I hope you don’t mind coming along for the ride.

Brett and I flew into Rome for 2 days before heading to Tuscany for a week long tour. Then back to Rome for several days before heading home. We got to our hotel just after lunch and dropped our bags and took off. Our hotel was a 15 minute walk to the Colosseum so we headed there first. There were long lines to get in and we walked past it after snapping some pictures and headed uphill towards a church.

The first church we went into (we went into 11 in total) was the Santa Maria Nova/Santa Francesca Romano, just a few minutes from the Colosseum. It was not a big church but still very ornate. It was originally built in the 8th century but then rebuilt in the 13th century and the name was changed to Santa Francesca Romano after  St. Frances died in 1440 and was buried there.

A typical side street in Rome. I’m not sure if these are rentals. We saw them all over the city.

It’s supposed to be illegal to sit on the Spanish Steps but no one seemed to know that or care. And in all fairness, there is almost no where to sit all over Rome apart from cafes. We saw very few benches and everyone is exhausted from walking around. We came back here before leaving Rome and I got some great views from the very top of the stairs but more on those later.

Typical statue. They are everywhere here.

I thought this little cafe was so cute with the umbrellas on the chair.

A side view of the Trevi fountain. There was a long line to get down close to the water and the crowds around this area were insane.

The 2nd church we visited, Santi Vincenzo E Anastasio, was across from the fountain. The original church was built in 962 and then rebuilt in 1650. The hearts of 22 Popes are buried here.

We stopped in at the 3rd church right before the Pantheon. The church of Sant’lgnazio de Loyola (St. Ignatius) was built in 1650 as the chapel for a college. There are 3 saints and a Pope buried here.

The sun setting on the Basilica of St. Mary. We didn’t go inside until right before leaving Italy so more on this church later.

After dinner we walked back by the Colosseum to see it all lit up.

A new bird for me (I saw 5 on this trip). The horned crows were everywhere here and they were not shy.

Growing in the park near the Colosseum.

Random street shots in Rome.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.