Day 14 - All roads (and tracks) lead back to Rome

Breakfast in Venice, and a quick shopping trip around the market to buy a picnic for our travels, and it was goodbye to Venice. We were back to the trains, and on our way back to Rome for the end of our journey. We left in the morning, and didn't get into Rome until 3, so it was another day of travel. Time for Rich to do some photo maintenance, and Kat to read and nap. And eat our picnic - which was delicious. In addition to cheese and some sort of pizza sandwich, we had some peaches - which were absolutely delicious. My brother Phil had told me that though the food is often simple here, it just tastes better, and I agree. We haven't had a bad meal since we've been here (unless you count the sometimes minimal breakfasts that have been included with our hotels). With another evening in Rome, we did some further exploring, getting to the Parthenon (and the famous gelato shop Gioletti) before dark. We also took in the Capechin Crypt - we are unable to take photos, but check out this link for the macabre details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_Crypt

After dinner, we did some nightime wandering, taking in some of the famous sites like Trajans column and the Colloseum lit up for maximum spectacle. We walked by this enormous monument, and figured it must be important, but our guidebook tells us it's a tribute that Victor Emmanual built for himself in the mid-1800s to celebrate his unification of Italy - but most Romans think it's a bit of an atrocity, calling it the "Dentures" or "the typewriter" We also learned that it's the largest equestrian statue in the world, and that Mr. Emmanual's mustache is 5 feet wide. That's some mustache.

We have an early morning wakeup call tomorrow to get to the Vatican Museum, St Peters and the Sistine Chapel. We're also hoping to take in the Forum/Colloseum by daylight. Arrivederci.