Rome, Italy: Underground and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USA

Mom and I spend our last day in Rome underground, at the Catacombs of St. Callistus and the grottoes of the Vatican.  Both are sacred Christian burial places--the first, for the early centuries of Christianity, when it was illegal and Christians were forced to hide their dead, and the second, for the popes.  Both sights were very interesting; however, you couldn't take pictures in either, so the shot above is the surface view of the Catacombs (half a million early Christians are buried in four stories under the field behind us).

After surfacing, Mom and I headed over to the Spanish Steps to take in the sights.  I filled up my water bottle at the lovely fountain in the piazza (all the fountains in Rome are spring-fed with streams from the Alps, so the water is cold and delicious and perfectly drinkable).  Aunt Joni--we're not dead yet!

Though we didn't see any American flags today, Mom couldn't resist snapping a picture of this red, white, and blue dress.  Happy birthday, USA!