Rome Part 3 - Veni Vidi Vici

I thought I would end my little series of Roman posts with a selection of the best of the other shots I took, and a brief explanation of each. First up, I saw this almost indecently attractive Maserati in a side street as we were scurrying from one church to another. I'm not sure what model it is, but I can tell you that it encapsulates everything I love about modern Italian design and style. Italy isn't just about the past, because the present is just so damn cool. Their cars are horny, there's no other way of putting it. On our trip I saw a couple of these Maseratis, a number of Ferraris, bucket loads of Alfas and most of all, an army of Fiat 500's both old and new. Not only that but I found the standards of dress employed by the average Italian to be rather posher than mine. In particular I came back with a determination to dramatically improve my underwear collection. Not sure quite why but there it is.

A daytime shot of the Trevi fountains, one of the most popular places in Rome. Night and day, this little square is always packed, and whilst there's no sign of Anita Ekberg bouncing around in the shallows, there's enough glamour here to please just about anyone. It's true that we forgot to throw in coins and make a wish, but given the prices in Rome for even a simple coffee, that was probably just as well.

One view of the Piazza de Popolo, which was much bigger and impressive than this shot suggests. But what I like about this picture is that it gives a little slice of what the landscape must have looked like in the time of the Caesars, and that's why it's included here.

One of the multitude of spectacular churches. If you have any interest at all in this sort of thing, then Rome is the place you need to be going for your next holiday.

The Pantheon, and the best preserved relic of the old Empire. Inside are tombs of the great and good, including Raphael who died at the age of just 37.

Our old friend the Coliseum, which I captured from distance on maximum zoom.

One of the great hallways in the Vatican museum.

Raphael's masterpiece fresco, 'The School of Athens', also at the Vatican museum.

And finally the river Tiber (above) and the last resting place of Maximus (below). And that is all I have to say about Rome. We didn't see it all by a long chalk, but that just gives us an excuse to go again. The amount of walking I did was immense however, and at the end of day three I was hobbling along. But it was all worth it, and this is a holiday I'll never forget. Next post, Florence !