Rome- day 2

Well, technically day 3 if you count us getting in late due to all the plane complications. But this was our 2nd day of exploring.
Roman Forum & Palentine Hill
There was a LOT to see!...as seen in the pictures.
My climber.
...also knows how to pose & work the camera.
Loved the flooring.  Also this is proof that I was a tacky tourist. Notice the bulky wool socks with my flats.  Oh, & an interesting side story - the scarf pictured here was something I bought on the streets of Rome.  Somehow with the language barrier, I managed to talk the seller up in price.  No wonder he was so friendly.
The boys loved the birds! Liam loved the chase the birds yelling "Shoe! Shoe!" (I know that's not how you spell shoe. Shew?? I can't for the life of me think of the spelling. But you get it).
The vegetation was so beautiful! I'm used to seeing sort of olive green cedars. These were gorgeous! A rich forest green & tall. It gave new meaning to all the bible passages that talk about the loftiness of cedars, etc.  These were gorgeous!  And there were cedars, pines & even palm trees. Never thought I'd see all those varieties in the same location. Beautiful!
Arch of Titus
Note- this is 2 pictures not one...it looks kinda confusing. It's the inside motifs of the arch. It depicts the Roman conquer of Jerusalem. On one side you see the Roman soldiers carrying away their spoils. The other side is the enslaved Jews.
Piazza de Popolo.
A very cool plaza with an Egyptian monument in the middle of it.  It generally means more time for them wandering with the kids.
It was also the place where I discovered that my mother-in-law is my shopping soulmate. This could be a good or bad thing. We have so much fun together...but she probably does entice me to spend more money. And I'm sure our husbands aren't so happy about the shopping bliss that we've found together. (Aren't the lights in this outdoor shopping area so fun?!)
Knock offs & the real deal.