We walked through the Roman Forum to head to Palatine Hill first. Palatine Hill was once a huge palace. The umbrella trees you see below mark where one wall of the palace use to stand. Here is the main courtyard:
I'm standing in the throne room below, where the emperor once sat long ago (Crown on!):
A view of the Roman Forum from Palatine Hill... Loving the blue skies:
The above represents a much abbreviated tour. Now off to the Roman Forum... Below stands the Arch of Titus - It commemorates a Roman victory. Here also stands a Hank:
I will mention this again later, but we were disciples of Rick Steves throughout our travels in Paris and Rome. He is the author of some amazing European travel books. Rick is funny too... He writes things in his books such as, "If things still look like just a pile of rocks, at least tell yourself, "But Julius Caesar once leaned against these rocks."
Speaking of Caesar, above is the spot where his body was burned. His funeral was held in this main square, and it is where the famous words of Mark Antony were spoken, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." Flowers are still placed upon this site today - He was burned in 44 B.C.
Above is the Temple of Saturn, the Forum's oldest temple dated to 497 B.C.
Sites, sites and more sites galore!
