Italy, Here we come!

As most of you know I just returned from a week in Italy with Mary and Taylor. Right before we left I purchased a brand new camera....lets just say I had a little fun with it. Here are the ones that made the cut from the 500 photos I shot. Enjoy!

Our first stop on Saturday was the Colosseum. What a great way to begin!

Gladiator, looks like you die. So sorry.

View from the Colosseum.

Our first meal in Italy! We had pizza almost everyday, but I never got tired of it.

Taylor's new dream car. I think it suits him.

Our first of many, many churches. This was one of my favorites.

Taylor mimicking a sculpture of Moses with horns.

Mary posing as a statue....this became a common theme of our photos. All of the pedestals were just too tempting.

The Palatine Hill is next to the Colosseum and is covered in ancient ruins. Foot races were held on the track shown here.

Mary dubbed herself Tour Guide Barbie...a role which she played exceptionally well! She constantly referenced the 2 or 3 guidebooks she carried at all times. Thanks for lugging around all that weight!

From any overlook in Rome you can see a handful of domes.

We stumbled upon an amazing overlook of the Forum. The is a close up of one of the ancient buildings.

And some statues in the Forum.

I loved the lemon trees! Why can't we grow those here?

Mary basks in the sun while Taylor reads her a little poetry.

This might look like a good idea.....

...until Taylor jumped down and broke his sandal. This was just the first of our podiatric mishaps. About 5 minutes later Mary missed a step and sprained her ankle.

Fortunately I was a bit more careful getting down.

Down in the Forum.

The Piazza del Campidoglio, just above the Forum on Capitoline Hill. The statue is of Marcus Aurelius.

Doesn't Taylor look just like him, particularly the bulging muscles?

The Piazza is surrounded by a couple art museums.

The colossal head of Constantine. It appears somebody had an ego.

And Taylor said you are supposed to kiss his foot. Not sure where he got that, but we went with it.

Apparently this little area was Rome's version of Temple Square. There were bridal parties everywhere shooting photos.

Mary particularly like this bride's veil.

I had a little fascination with doors. Why don't we have such beautiful and unique doors in America?! These were a few I found, all on the first day with the exception of the Gates to Heaven (gold one) which was in Florence.