How do you leave?

How do you decide what you're going to do on your last day in Rome? Well, you pretty much have to resign yourself to the idea that you can't possibly see everything there in a week (or even two). Have I had a great time? You bet I have. Did I see a lot of marvelous things? More than I ever imagined. So I decided just to go out and have some fun without stressing out about what I might have missed. No regrets.

There was still one place that I wanted to go; the Galleria Doria Pamphilj. According to the guide book, "Most of the great names of the Renaissance are represented on this gallery's crowded walls." How could I pass that up, right?

The gallery didn't open until 10:00 and it was relatively close to Capitoline Hill, so I decided to take another walk past the ruins. The rain from the previous night was gone and it was another beautiful day.

Here are a couple more shots from the area of the Forum.

This kind of 'peeking' view looks in on the monstrous Victor Emmanuel Monument. Vick was Italy's first king. He must have done a pretty decent job because one of the few streets wide enough for traffic on both directions is also named after him.

I was so glad I'd gone to the Galleria! After spending several hours there (no photos allowed), I stopped for lunch at a pizzeria. All of the pizzas were named after rock groups from the 60's. I had 'The Doors' (and a beer, of course).

"Italian Food" in the US is so different what I had there. Every time I was served something, it made me smile to see just how different it was from what I would have gotten here. There was no sauce on this pizza. It wasn't sliced. The crust was very thin and crispy. The cheese was in scooped piles. The tomatoes were half cherry tomatoes set around in concentric circles. And there were 'greens' on it!! It was great!

After lunch, I decided that I'd go back inside St Peter's and take a last look there. Here again are just some street scenes I found along the way.

Again I crossed the Ponte Sant' Angelo. This time I took pictures of most of the angels along the bridge. This one is my favorite.

There was one heck of a line at St Peter's and it kind of made me laugh to hear people complaining about having to wait. These folks had come all the way from the US and a 20 minute wait in line was stretching the limit of their tolerance! Obviously they had never been inside. I would have stood there for an hour and I'd seen it already!

Also... All of the guidebooks warn and there are signs as you wait; you must be properly dressed in order to enter the churches. No bare shoulders or knees are allowed. So there were people who stood in line and made it through the security check only to be turned aside at the door because of the way they were dressed.

Here's one shot just coming up the steps before you actually enter.

And a fitting close to my adventure, was the opportunity again to see Michelangelo's Pieta'...

...and, of course his glorious dome!

One of the benefits of where I was staying was the location and I spent the rest of the evening browsing the shops, had a late dinner and headed back to the hotel.

The final adventure was trying to cram everything back into my suitcases!