Rome - Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon

Two of the must do's in Rome include Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon.

These two really enjoyed the fountain, for about 10 or 15 minutes.

Of all the places in Rome, The Pantheon might be the most impressive.  Built over 2000 years ago, it is still in imacculate condition and an amazing architectural feat.  The columns were imported from Eqypt and weight 60 tons each.



It still holds the record for the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. A perfect 43 meter sphere would fit within the dome.

The tomb of Raphael.



Outside the Pantheon, and throughout Rome, were guys selling "Prada", "Louis Vitton", and "Coach" bags.

Anytime the cops got near, it was time to move shop.

St. Peters Basilica

It's been awhile since our trip to Rome, but we thought we would share our pictures or St. Peter's Basilica.  Not much to say, other than that it is a very impressive structure.

Differences - Drinking

From the local news:

It is now very likely the legal age for buying wine and beer in the Netherlands will rise from 16 to 18, possibly even ahead of the September general election.

Link

Don't let your mother smell that beer on your breath. She'll take it out on me.

Wordless Wednesday

If you predict it, it will be so

From the local news:

On Tuesday, tourist attraction bosses in Belgium called for ‘less pessimistic forecasts’ and urged meteorologists to pay as much attention to sun as they do to rain.

And on Monday, local councillors in Hoek van Holland said weather forecasters who got it wrong should be fined. Bad forecasts are spoiling the local seaside trade, the Labour councillors said.

Link



Next time, could you bring the sun?



Nile

Our last night in Cairo we decided to take a cruise up the Nile.



 Our vessel had three floors and a deck on top where you could enjoy the views of the city.

A view from the top deck.

Our dinner was much better than you would expect on tourist river cruise.  The daugther was eyeing the buffet, ready to pounce.

The entertainment included a belly dancer.

And a whirling dervish.

Someone was a little scared of the whirling dervish when he got close.

It would be wrong to mention the Nile on a "Hawks" blog without a reference to the greatest Hawkeye of all time.

Finally, if you will permit me, I'd like to make a comment which in my mind, is indicative, perhaps, of the greater significance of football and sports emphasis in general in this country, and that is, I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of Europe. I can speak confidently and positively that the players of this country would much more, much rather, struggle and fight to win the Heisman award than the Croix de Guerre. - Nile Kinnick