Mike and Marco let us sleep an hour later today so we would be well rested and fed (breakfast was included again at our hotel) for our walking tour of Rome with Cristina.

We began our tour (our motor coach dropped us off near by) at the Spanish Steps.

At the base of the step you will find a beautiful fountain, the famous Barcaccia Fountain, the work of Pietro Bernini and his son, Gian Lorenzo.

Nearby, you will find the Spanish Consulate…

and some AMAZING shopping- which unfortunately, time did not allow for this morning. No matter how hard I begged…

Next up was the Trevi Fountain- which in true Tinnirello vacation style, is under rehab.

It is still so beautiful!

And there is still a spot to throw a coin over your shoulder to insure a return trip to Rome!

Next up was the stunningly beautiful Galleria Sciarra. This amazing space was built originally to be the shopping center for Rome. Giuseppe Cellini painted the space filled with women in traditional roles of mother, wife and housekeeper, as well as personifying the female “virtues”.

Next was one of the most beautiful churches I can ever remember being inside, Sant’Ignazio.

The decor is just magnificent. The ceiling is all painted- and continues the columns in paint reaching up into Heaven.

We then traveled to the Pantheon,  is the most preserved building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. It is also the most imitated of all ancient works.

Then it was time for some gelato!

Then we were off to the Piazza Navona.  This is one of the most famous and one of the most beautiful of Rome’s many squares.

From here we headed to Rome’s Hard Rock Cafe. We did visit in 1998, and here we were needing a late lunch/early dinner before having to meet back with with our guides at 6pm.