Even though the rain seems to be sticking with us ( despite the false weather reports of sunshine) we are still having a blast here.

This morning we spent an hour trying to explain why I wanted to return the Nikon I bought the day before. Thankfully, another Italian who spoke English came to my aid to translate...and I finally got my wish, a viewfinder :) So now I have a new camera which is 7.1 megapixels and has a viewfinder...its awesome, and took some cool pics today...

After the camera incident, we took the subway down to Trevi fountain, and even in the rain hordes of people were milling around tossing coins over their heads, and snapping picture after picture...Hey, I am no different :-) We spent a half hour elbowing other people out of the way for pics, and had a fun time slipping and sliding through the puddles.

Mom met another Italian man who chased after us, wildly calling " my heart boom boom for you"....No, I'm not kidding! The men are very forward here...

After a nice lunch of caprese, pizza and vino, we headed out to Piazza Venezia. This building is absolutely enormous. Called the wedding cake here in Rome, this massive marble building was was commissioned by Victor Emanuel ( the 1st king) as an homage to himself!! How conceited eh? It is quite the spectacle, and looks very beautiful with the ancient Roman ruins just across the way. See picture...

We then trotted down to the Colliseum, and down to Circus Maximus, which is where the chariot races were held..with seating for more than 300,000 spectators!! Now it is just a big field, but it was cool to hang out on the lawn, and check out pics of what it looked like in its hey day.

The rain began on our subway ride to the Spanish steps, and after seeking refuge ( and a few cappuccinos) in a place called Babbington's, we happened to open a menu and see the price of 20 dollars US for a cup of tea!!?!

The pouring rain didn't stop most tourists, or us, so we continued down what must have been Rome's Rodeo Drive ( past Gucci, Prada, Hermes) we found a more affordable place to have gelato and cappuccinno....Mom REALLY liked them and had 3!

After that we got stuffed tomatoes for dinner, and lots of sweets...I love Italian pastries. Mom lit candles, put on Andrew Lloyd Webber, and we drank champagne in the comfort of our last night in this glorious apartment. It really is romantic here :)

Tomorrow we go to the hostel ( which is still a private room-which my mom insisted on) and off to delve further into the Forum and Colliseum