Free At Last…Rome Here I Come

So this was our first free day and I was so excited to concur the city…with my by myself! We started off…being Sunday at church, which was weird to take a cab to church…does that cancel out my good works! I was so excited to be somewhere familiar, even if it was in a different language. There was such a great feeling pulling up and seeing the well known font of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on the side of a conference center building. It was so great to see the missionaries, thinking about my brother translating for the girls visiting just like the missionaries did for us. It was so great to here the strong conviction of the people; they really deserve the temple…and that day sitting in the chapel I hoped to return when the temple is built. After church we headed back to the Villa, and caught up with Megan, Kyle and Ashley. We caught the metro to the Spanish Step. It was such a rad part of town. The high end area, with the streets lined with high end shopping like…Prada, Gucci, Luis Vutton! I was in heaven…if only I was a rich women. I did step into Prada, just to say I had…touched the holy grail of purses…then off to the much more affordable H&M!
Next, we headed to the Forum…but crazy, the Ambassador of China was there taking a private tour so they removed everyone from the big sights to have a private tour…ah to be high and mighty!
Whit, Mal, and I headed to see the Pantheon again…Whit was absent for the first venture…and what do ya know…shut down for the big wig too! She got to see the outside at least…then we met up for dinner with the rest of the gang at Piazza Norona…such a great plaza lined with great restaurants and musicians playing away serenading us…It was one of those moments…the I can’t believe I’m here…I can’t believe I’m experiencing Rome in it’s fullness! We had the best meal in Rome…we headed down the square, pop!...around the corner was a massive embassy building with this amazing fountain! Entertainment by Chofo the clown…I got to figure out the human table thing he did! …and then he juggled flaming pins on a big unicycle! He was a good time! This was the type of square and architecture I had imagined in Rome! Plants dripping from windows, bright colored stucco, and iron work…the streets lined with artist and of course gelato on the corner…this time…Nutella…totally favorite!
A quick trip to the Mouth of Truth…which sadly was locked, so no reenactment of Roman Holiday scene! It was so great spending the last night, seriated by music, dinning in the plaza, with the glowing city all around me…When in Rome!