The Travels of Eric and Lorna

 A rainy noon in Piazza Navona. I will note that the guys who pop up to sell umbrellas as soon as it starts raining have raised their price from two Euros to five, which I guess is not terrible inflation for over a decade. Enjoy.

OK one more before I turn in.  As I think I said, Rome can be very loud and crowded. But not always. Sometimes Rome is as peaceful as anywhere in the countryside. Turn up your volume and listen to this video of us waiting in Piazza di Montevecchio near our apartment for our cab at 6:50 or so on Sunday morning. This is about a two minute walk from Piazza Navona. It's as quiet as the proverbial tomb. Hear the birds chirp. Pretty cool.

 Travel tip. Peek into places while you are visiting tourist sites. I want to be clear. Do not trespass, disturb anything, or go anywhere you are no supposed to go. What I am talking about is, if you see a gated doorway, or a storage room with a window looking in, or something like that, go peek in and see what's inside. I sometimes take pictures like this, always being careful not to drop my phone. Sometimes you see something cool. Like these. This is the 'basement' of the main Temple of the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva) at Ostia Antica. Again, this picture was taken through the gap in the door by holding my phone up close. I never even touched the door. Those pipe looking things? Those are pipes, ancient Roman lead water pipes. I guess they store extras here. Pretty awesome.  Also, that's the basement of an ancient temple! That's cool. I bet it wasn't lead pipes stored here originally. This is also Ostia Antica. A display of epigraphs (i.e. ins

Porta San Paolo Pyramid of Cestius Bath of Neptune mosaic Ostia Antica Theater Ostia Antica Views of Ostia Antica remains from the extant third floor of a Roman building. Pretty cool. The Temple of the Capitoline Triad at Ostia Antica General Ostia Antica picturesqueness Fancy warehouse entrance. This is how large those are out of the ground. For scale is is around two meters tall. Olive oil or wine storage jars in situ. Some have the capacity (in amorpha) written on the lip. Some also show signs of repair. Cool old Fiat truck in Trastevere Shout out to this guy at Pizzeria Ai Marmi in Trastevere who is giving me the stink eye. I apologize, sir. The pizza you made me was amazing. This is the pizza he made me. This place is amazing and you should go if you are in Rome. Some reviews said the quality had dropped off but it was still as awesome as we remembered from years ago. These giant tubs outside the French Embassy in Palazzo Farnese were reportedly taken from the Baths of Caracalla,

Largo Argentina Ancient Republican Era temple remains and cat sanctuary. Pza. Navona Passetto di Borgo Whose house? Pope's house. Castel St Angelo Pantheon.

 Here are pictures of some cool frescoes from various museums and Ostia Antica.