We are eating healthy foods, but probably because of all the walking and hills and stairs, we are always soooo tired. Again, we slept in today.  Didn’t get down to breakfast until a bit after 11am. We should have just had lunch, but our free breakfast was waiting on us. We both had two cups of cappuccino with breakfast which really helped get us going.

Cattia gave us better directions to the laundry place, so we set out again to find it, this time with the suitcase of dirty clothes. Well, we did find it, but they could not get our clothes washed/dried the same day, and both of us really need some of these clothes to wear tomorrow. To make a long story short, after a fruitless search for a nearby self-service laundry we gave up and I washed the necessary clothes in the hotel sink. I’ll be lucky if my jeans are dry by tomorrow. And, a lot of precious time wasted that could be spent seeing the sights of Rome. Argh, I hate that these menial tasks take up so much time.

On a good note, the sun is back out today and we went to the Forum this afternoon. I love this place, but not as much as I used to. I fell in love with the Forum on my first trip here ten years ago. Then, it was free and you could just wander through the ruins any time you wanted. Now, not only is it 11 euros per person, but there are major walkways that you have to stick to, and you can’t go up to and get close to the ruins. Many paths are even closed off. I know it is to protect the ruins from the increased number of tourists, but it just isn’t the same intimate experience it used to be. I was very disappointed with the experience today, although the runs of the Forum shining in the sunlight are still awe-inspiring. This changes my opinion of Rome as my favorite city in the world.

We took a quick trip on the subway tonight. We went to the Spanish Steps area where there are a ton of retail shops to find the Levis store we saw on the map. Kevin’s jeans are ripping in an undesirable area and he needs replacement jeans pronto. Unfortunately, the store closed thirty minutes before we arrived so we’ll have to go back tomorrow.

We plan to get up early tomorrow to get pictures in the Forum with the morning sun. Tomorrow night is our Vatican tour, only two days left…