23. Last Day in Rome

For our last day in Rome we took time to simply walk around and enjoy the city. No schedule, no museums to walk through, just the city and the people. We started the morning in a Scottish Presbyterian church that spoke English and were even invited to their special after service snack time where we met a lot of the congregation and had some quality Italian goodies. Here were some of my favorite moments from the day.

There was a lot going on in the piazza right by our apartment. We were drawn to a crowd at the far end who kept laughing. Soon we found this hilarious clown pulling pranks on passerby and the kids watching. Right next to him was another SPRAY PAINTER! I really love these. Some spray paint and some newspaper make a great masterpiece in under 10 minutes!

Then we saw some more ruins. They're actually all over. This one is known as the Cat Sanctuary. At least to me. It's always cool to see the current street level - in the background - compared to when these sites were built.

A quick walk over to the steps revealed this gang

Then we started spotting them everywhere! 

This one has three legs, but he's still going strong.

This building did a really good job of combining the old and the new! 

This is the Grand Staircase! At the top was the Piazza del Campidoglio, the political center of Rome. 

Of course in the 1500's Michelangelo was asked to redecorate the square - cue the naked man statues. 

At the top we has a great view of Rome. Isn't scaffolding great? 

Here's the Victor Emmanuel Monument. It was built for Italy's first King. It's pretty much just over the top huge. The monument is 200 ft high and 500 ft wide. The statue out front of the king on a horse is one of the biggest equestrian statues in the world. The kings mustache alone is 5 ft across. There are uncovered ruins surrounding the building and it's safe to say there is plenty underneath it to find. But hey, the king was an important guy.

On the walk home we experienced the Sunday night Italian carnival at its finest.

And another spray painter. It never gets old.