Rome - September 2015
Paul had business with the Italian government in Rome, so we decided to go together and add some sightseeing. We stayed at a small, inexpensive and very comfortable hotel recommended by Paul's Irish friend Peter-Carlo ... only a five-minute walk from the Spanish Steps in the heart of Rome!
While Paul was at work the first day, I did a lot of walking around on my own. I first went to the Piazza di Spagna to see the 'Spanish Steps'...
... and then to another piazza called the Piazza del Popolo.
Rome is very big into statues and big ornate buildings! While walking to the Trevi Fountain I stopped into 3 different churches -- all gorgeous.
I was so disappointed that the fountain was being cleaned so it had no water in it. That's the one that was made famous in the movie 'Three Coins in a Fountain'. I forgot about being disappointed after a stop for chocolate gelato.
Today Paul and I headed out to see the Colisseum. Along the way we took some photos of City Hall ....
It took longer than we expected to get to the Coliseum because we kept taking pictures of all the incredible architecture and statues and found the ruins to be quite amazing.
We took an interesting tour of the Coliseum and then had a late lunch on the way back.
On Sunday we had breakfast with Paul's Italian colleague, Mariella, and her husband Salvatore, and then we walked to the Pantheon.
We didn't have other plans for the day, so Mariella suggested we do a walking tour to see six Caravaggio paintings in 3 different churches. It was a great suggestion! This is one of the paintings. They were all exquisite and even more special to see them in the places that he was specifically painting for.
We stopped for a leisurely lunch and then wandered back to our hotel enjoying more piazzas and architecture along the way. This is the Fountain of Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona.
Our last day was all about visiting The Vatican. On our walk there, we passed the incredibly ornate Courts of Cassation (local court) building.
St. Peter's Square and Basilica in Vatican City.
We took a 2-hour guided tour of the Vatican. This is an example of how ornate the walls and ceilings are all throughout. Photography is allowed in all places as long as a flash is not used, except for in the Sistine Chapel where photography is not allowed at all.
We also went in St. Peter's Basilica, which is ginormous!
We really enjoyed our dinners in Rome, also. We went to pizzerias two nights, gourmet dining two nights and casual dining last night. Everything was in walking distance and we always ate outside except for one night when it had showered just enough to get everything wet. All in all, a very nice trip!
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