First day in Roma, we went for a walk around town. The last time Patty was in Rome, this monument was hidden from view as it was being cleaned.  Hmmm, Rome may look better with this silly monument hidden from view!

The river Tiber. This little trickle established Rome as a major trade city???

A familiar sight.  Bill struggling with the map, and Patty saying, "How many times do I have to show you how a map works?"

The Tiber. Probably really pretty in the spring, with people strolling along the quay.

It's pretty brown, now though, with all the recent rain.  Bill kept telling everybody that the last time he was in Rome, in 2003, Europe was in the middle of a heat wave and drought and this rushing river was merely a trickle.

Cindy and Patty enjoy the view.

Then Bill spotted an empty table outside a gelato shop and plopped himself down.  He didn't really care about having gelato -- this was a pretty cool day after all -- but the chance to get off his feet seemed too good to pass up.  Patty and Cindy succumbed to temptation and eventually so did Bill.  Everybody loves gelato!!

Wandering along we came across a little porch Augustus Caesar constructed in honor of his sister Octavia.

It's being excavated.  Slowly.

Cindy snaps a picture.

What?  Can't read this?

How about now?

It wasn't one of the highlights of the trip, but Octavia's Portico was definitely something interesting to stumble across.  That's the thing about Rome: everywhere you look there's something really interesting to investigate.

Now we're in the Jewish ghetto area of Rome.

"Ghetto" doesn't necessarily have a bad connotation.

This is really fantastic. The little restaurants in this part of town make a big display of the fresh produce being used. Hooray, it is carciofi season (artichokes, that is).

What a pretty little piazza in the middle of the old jewish ghetto.

We should sit and do some people-watching.

And so we did, until this garbage truck parked itself right in front of Bill and blocked his view!

Bill and the view-blocking dump truck.

Look, an excavation of ruins in the middle of the city.  Wonder why it smells so bad...

Oh, it is also a feral cat sanctuary with over 750 wild cats living among the ruins. UGH!!  It's little more than a giant litter box!

Although the best looking litter box any of us have ever seen.

The odor doesn't seem to faze the cats.  They look fat and happy.

Pretty, but we've moved upwind. Ugh! Let's go find turtles instead.  Bill's Fodor's guidebook said there was a fountain featuring turtles around here and for some reason Bill became determined to find it.

Some time later ... OK, a considerable amount of time later (with Bill navigating), we found the turtles!

Now off to find something else interesting to stumble across.

Laundry!  That's interesting!

On to Travestere.  That is Tra-VES-tay-ray. I think. We never pronounced it completely correctly.   Bill just gave up and called it Vinnie Testaverde.

A fabulous little restaurant called Alle Fratte di Trastevere.  It's a Fodor's Choice!

Cindy is being observed by the mural.

Caprese salad. and vino rosso. And sparkling water.  Cindy and Patty loved sparkling water and ordered it at every opportunity.  Bill said it tasted like water that had gone bad, like it had been left out in the sun too long or something. 

Cindy ordered a delicious seafood risotto.

Orichette with ricotta sauce and carciofi romano for Patty.

For Bill, something even the dog couldn't keep down.  Although he said it tasted really good.

A couple of tourists with swollen feet. They are about to call a cab to take them back to the Hotel Aberdeen.