Roma Day Two:

Thursday was our “hop on, hop off” bus tour which allowed our first stop to be the Basilica of San Pietro. I had never seen the grottoes were the Popes are entombed. It was interesting to see them all in their little places, some very simple and elegant and ranging to those who were lavishly sculpted or decorated. We even got to see Pope John Paul who died in 1979 and the latest Pope that passed in 2005. I am not catholic so the names of the Popes escape my memory almost as soon as they appear. We also wandered around the main sanctuary as well.We then mounted the bus again and rode around viewing the Castello Sant’ Angelo, the Porta Pia, The Borghese Gardens, and left the bus once again at Santa Maria Maggiore, another church that I had not been able to see. Another leg on the bus and we were at the Coliseum where we had lunch and walked over to one of my favorite churches, San Clemente, but it was closed for a couple of hours and we could not wait. So, we trekked it back over to the bus and headed for home being able to see the Forum, Emmanuelle Vittorio monument and other sites until we reached out getting off point. Whew, time for a nap.