Rome - July 8, 2011: The Forum and Shopping!!!

Today it was mighty warm and humid, again. We slept in a bit and took the bus to the Forum, which would have been a nice 15 minute walk had it not been so stiffling hot. The Forum is where the action happened, it was the seat of the government, where hearings were held, speeches made, just rich with political history and more than 2000 years old. We ooohhhed and aaaahhhed the Forum area, the columns, the majesty of it all, then hopped onto the #85 bus to Via Corso and shopping! One of the first stores we came to we had great success as Sarah found two beautiful white dresses and a perfect leather belt to go with the dresses. She looked stunning.

The real estate the Forum takes up is huge..it's all around.

Me, near the Forum and a statue of one of the Caesars.

Forum.

Sarah modelling her long white dress at the nearby park.

Sarah modelling her long white dress, a different pose.

We popped in and out of shops, once into a fur shop, which was totally out of our budget…and then back toward Trevi Fountain. It was just a way station for us this time. No boys. Gaby drew for a bit. At one point Sarah and I found a “grocery store” (which they really don’t have out here) and purchased a few supplies, including some tasty bread.

Then Sarah and Catalina took off for more shopping…we all planned to meet up a little later. At one particular tiny shop, Catalina found some loose-fitting slacks and a drapey type of blouse “all Italian women wearing” said the saleswoman who was practically dressing Catalina. Yea, right. Well, it looked great on Catalina and it fit in her budget – so yet another successs.

Catalina modelling part of her new fashions.

We headed out for a nice dinner at an outdoor café and had ravioli, linguini alla Bolognese (meat sauce), and linguine alla porcini (mushrooms). I also had a delicious caprese salad.

By the time we got back to the apartment, we were well-fed and somewhat tired. I’ve been writing since, but the girls went back out to spend time at the nearby park showing off their Italian fashions. Sarah met a "dreamy Italian man" named Georgio something or rather, who spoke no English. They "chatted" for awhile as best they could, using Georgio's cousin to interpret. 

We all decided it was a really good day.