Italy - Rome part 2

Exploring Rome in 1 day definitely not enough. Well, it depends on your stamina, and how tired you are willing to be at the end of the trip. I have to be back at work on Monday, so I can't go all out. 

The second day was started with spaghetti carbonara, a dish classic to Rome. 

It's definitely very different from any pasta carbonara I have ever tried in the United States and in Asia. The pasta is definitely more dry; no cream was used. It was delicious.

We then headed to the Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti or the Spanish Steps using the Metro, stopping at Spagna. It was worth the hike up the flights of stairs. According to Wikipedia, the Scalinata is the widest staircase in Europe.

When you reached the top, you could enter the Trinita dei Monti church. The church was not very big, but it doesn't hurt to feel the serenity of the interior.

The Pantheon is located not too far from the Spanish Steps. It's also very close to Trevi Fountain, although we did not go there on the first day because it was closed by the time we were done taking pictures of Trevi Fountain after sunset.

The exterior of Pantheon does not really tell that it is a church. At least to me, it doesn't look like a church.

It actually is a church. More accurately, it is also called the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs. Ho
 

However, what I found very interesting was not the fact that it is a church. The circular shape of the church is already unique enough. Well, I'd say the most striking feature of this church is the dome.

They look LAN ports in circular arrangements directly from below. Well, of course that's not the first thing I noticed. The hole in the middle of the dome allows sunlight to enter the church, acting like a natural spotlight shining on the heart of the building (you can also imagine Mr. Bean falling from there - if you have watched the original Mr. Bean series before). It was a really interesting design. For one time, I was curious if the hole is covered by a glass. Logically, it would be (otherwise, it's gonna be fun when it rains).

Rome is really beautiful. It's a shame that I know some people would visit Rome just to take picture of the Colosseum and not even knowing what it is called. No, they're not fifth graders. They're proper, rich adults.