After our last blog, Ness' outdoor adventures resumed with dinner at a local Asian restaurant for chicken & corn soup, white rice and toufu - can't get more Asian than that. But it was good and on day 6, we were ready to get back out there and seize our last "touring" day in Rome.

We decided to start early to beat the heat and set out straight after breakfast. Although our initial goal was to get to the Pantheon, we get a little lost and end up at our second destination first: the Victor Emmanuel II (VEII) monument or Altare della Patria (Altar of the fatherland). I've mentioned the monument briefly in our original Rome post but today, we were going atop the monument.

A brief history - VEII is recognized as the first king of the united Italy. While they love their first king, Romans hate the monument. It's too big and takes up too much space for what it is. They also feel that the white marble from which the building is constructed is too white. To put things in perspective, the monument is about the length of an AFL football field and approximately 80 meters tall.

The monument itself is not new, but in 2009, an elevator to the very top was opened. A short ascent allows for birds eye views of Rome. We easily pick out the Colossuem, the Roman Forum (although a building has the audacity of block the views of the columns of the temple of Jupiter) and the Pantheon. We can even see as far out as Vatican City.

We spend some time admiring the stunning view, posing as statues and simply enjoying the breeze on the hot summer's day before descending and continuing on to the Pantheon.

The Pantheon is considered to be a work of art because of its incredible symmetry and as a result, its designs have been copied in buildings all around the world, including the Capitol in Washington DC. Listening again to our Rick Steve's audio guide, we see the tombs of Raphael and also of VEII (remember him?) and of his successor and son - Umberto I. What's really interesting is that buried beneath Umberto, is his wife (and first cousin) Margarita, known for her extravagant tastes in clothes and jewellery. Apparently, it is after her that the famous Margarita pizza was named in 1889. And traditionally, the Margarita is served with red tomatoes, white mozzarella and green basil - the colours of the Italian flag!

The rest of the evening is spent back at the apartment packing up before we depart for Florence tomorrow. We had hoped that we would make it to Vatican City for a glimpse of the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museums as they open their doors after hours, every Friday of the summer. Unfortunately, not only were the trains on strike, entry tickets needed to be purchased a day in advance. It looks like we'll need to come back again some other time (preferably when it's not this hot).

Tim's Observations:
- Horses have very different body shapes to humans. It is very difficult to accurately mimic their hind legs.
- It seems bras are optional undergarments for women in Italy.
- It is magnificent to see little old men weaving their scooters through traffic to attend church.
- Tim and Ness highly recommend staying at Hotel Patria when in Rome. As Mum Davies would say, it's "cheap and cheerful". It's also in a fantastic location and the staff were absolutely fantastic when Ness was sick. Another awesome feature is that three generations of Cooper/Davies have now stayed there!