Today we crossed the empire

Great day today.
We shopped this morning for groceries for the week. Hugo and I carried our shopping up the five flights! No one seems to use recyclable bags here. Everyone does in Hong Kong. The breads even in the supermarket are incredible. I finally found soy milk!
We decided to take the metro to St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, and then go on an adventure on foot. It was a very hot day - our tans are improving. The sun seems much gentler here - two hours in the midday sun left me golden and not at all pink.
My navigational skills let us down slightly - right road, wrong direction:) St Peter's is vast. The lines were also hugely impressive. When we go, we'll definitely book a tour to escape the queues. We headed from St Peter's to the Tiber, and St Angelo's Castle, built in 2nd century, and where quite a few popes had to hide early on. It's been a papal fortress, a residence and a prison. Apparently there are some very scary torture instruments in the dungeons. We might get down there later - it was closed today. Beyond the castle were lovely markets lining the River Tiber's banks. We crossed on Ponte Umberto and ended up in Piazza Navone, where Bernini's gorgeous Fountain of the Four Rivers dominates. More obelisks here, too. I didn't realize when I was there today, but the fountain was one of the 'altars of science' in Angels and Demons - I wish I'd thought about that when we were there today.
From there we wound around (still on foot of course) to the Pantheon. It is incredible. Unbelievable. Huge marble pillars. Originally built by Agrippa in the 1st century BC, it was a tribute to all the ancient gods of Rome. It was destroyed and then rebuilt in the second century AD. The back section is a huge dome - awe-inspiring, and, since the 7th century, a church. This is something I find really interesting in Rome - the coexistence of Christianity and the traditional ancient gods. I'm sure it wasn't always so smooth:)
After the Pantheon we wound back to our flat, stopping on the way at the gelato shop Lonely Planet says has the best gelato in Rome. I had ginger and cinnamon, Rachel had strawberry and Hugo had caramel. Delicious. MIne wasn't better than the chocolate hazelnut one the first night we arrived.
We walked for miles. Tomorrow we'll remember our hats!