Don't miss the Colosseum and the Roman Forum

This was Garold's favorite site. This 2,000 year old structure is an example of the engineering and building skills of the Romans. It was 4 stories high, held 50,000 spectators, and was the model for the football stadiums we have today.


He was so happy to be here he gave it a thumbs up!



They put in a partial reconstruction of the floor, so you can see how it worked. Below the floor is where the animals and the gladiators were kept. They used elevators and trap doors to bring them up to the main floor.



The emperor sat just above this cross at the Games.


Rome is full of ruins. Here you see them simply lying about while people casually walk by.




They continue to dig, and they keep finding more.


Here's Garold in what's left of the Roman Forum. Those cobblestones have been there for centuries. Imagine Roman Senators wearing togas and sandles strolling down this street discussing politics and philosophy.




Julius Caesar's body was burned here after his assassination in 44 B.C.





People still leave flowers to honor him. He walked right by this spot on the very day he was assassinated, and was warned to "Beware the Ides of March!"

The Arch of Constantine (located next to the Colosseum) was built to commemorate his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge in October of the year 312. Battle scenes are carved into the top of the arch. Constantine was the first Christian emperor of Rome. In the year 313 he issued the Edict of Milan, proclaiming religious tolerance throughout the empire.

When in Rome....be sure to see the Vatican

On Tuesday, the last day in September, we took a 3 hour train ride from Pisa Centrale to Rome Termini. We used our Roma passes to ride the Metro to the Furio Camillo station, which was just 1/2 mile from the place we stayed, at Via Camillo Porzio 27. We rented a room in a private residence, on the south side of the city, near the Catacombs. It was called Appian Garden, probably because it is near the Appian Way, the ancient Roman road that was built in 312 BC and is still in use today.

It is one of the few homes in Rome with a yard. It once belonged to a farmer who sold the surrounding land to developers, who built apartments. The yard was fenced, so we had two keys: one for the gate, and another for the door to our room. It was a very small room, just barely enough space for the bed, two chairs and a clothes rack. Our bathroom, pictured below, was private and ensuite, and very interesting. Notice the handheld shower on the right and the drain in the floor? This was the shower/bathroom combo!

We were very tired, so we soon settled in to our cosy little room and got a good night's sleep.

The next day we got up, strapped on our Rick Steves money belts, and set off to see Rome. But first we stopped at a little Bar on the corner for breakfast. No one there spoke English, so we asked for "Due cappuccini, per favore." A nice lady behind the pastry bar gestured to the table in the corner, inviting us to sit, then brought us some cookies to have with our coffee. This is a typical Italian breakfast -- coffee and a pastry. Italians take their coffee very strong. Espresso is typically served in a very small demitasse cup, or sometimes in a shot glass. Some drink it quickly while standing at the bar. Cappuccino is served in a larger cup (about half full of coffee) that is topped off with hot, steamed frothy milk. If the bartender knows you are American, he may offer you some sugar for your coffee. We liked this bar so much we had breakfast there every morning.

Our first stop was the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. Here I am leaning against the outside of the Vatican Wall. Vatican City is actually a tiny independent country that includes the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica.

Here I am in St. Peter's Square, where a huge crowd had gathered earlier that day to see the Pope.

The Vatican itself was an imposing structure. Visitors lined up to get inside.

Swiss Guards keep an eye on things. They were all business and not too interested in posing for photos. Notice the cobblestone road. They filmed part of the movie The DaVinci Code on this street!

Garold got out his MP3 Player with the Rick Steve's audio tapes that Laura downloaded for him. After a few tries he got the hang of it and looked like a pro.

The halls of the Vatican Museum are lined with art--4 miles of it. It was a bit overwhelming.

Even the ceilings were works of art.

The Madonna and Child is a recurring theme in so much of the art in Italy.

But they also have their ancient Roman Gods.

It was amazing to see how life-like a marble statue can look. Here is a Roman mother nursing her child.

In this painting, women appear to be changing a baby's diaper.

The mural below is called School of Athens and was painted around the same time Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling--1508-1512. It shows Plato (dressed in orange/red) and Aristotle (dressed in blue) in the center. Archimedes is the man in the foreground who is leaning over and pointing to a slate. Behind him and to the right the young man who is looking at you is the artist, Raphael. Notice the beautiful inlaid marble floor.






The building in Raphael's mural resembles the present day Vatican. Below is a photo I took of a Swiss Guard at one of the Vatican entrances in October of 2008.







Everything was beautiful, even the view from this window was exceptional.







Here I am in one of the great long halls, with its beautiful inlaid marble floors. Notice the lack of benches anywhere....we got pretty tired and quickly fell behind the crowd.








We also saw the Sistine Chapel, which is located inside the Vatican Museum. Michelangelo painted the ceiling himself over a period of 4 years for Pope Julius II, who according to a letter written by the artist in 1523, gave him permission to "make what I wanted, whatever pleased me." Because it is a holy place, Vatican employees periodically called out "silenzio!" Photos were not permitted, but here is small photo that I retrieved from Yahoo Images. The impact of this room cannot be communicated in photos or in words. You have to experience it for yourself to appreciate the power of this creation.





Next we went to St. Peter's Basilica. Just inside the door, to the right, Michelangelo's Pieta is on display behind bullet proof glass. He sculpted this when he was only 24 years old, and it is the only work he ever signed. This is the most beautiful work of art I have ever seen. I saw it for the first time as a black and white photo in my college Humanities textbook more than 40 years ago, but I took the photo below myself on 10/1/08.









This is a monument to Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667). It was Bernini's last great masterpiece (he was 80 when he did this), and is located behind the Main Altar and to the left, near the part of the church where they still hold daily masses for anyone who wishes to attend.






Most of the popes are buried in St. Peter's. This did not click for me until I saw the tomb of Pope John XXIII, who died in 1963. His body, which can be seen inside the lighted coffin, is very well preserved!







Peter, one of the original 12 apostles, was crucified here shortly after the Great Fire of Rome, in the year 64 A.D. In 1942, the bones of a male person were found in the excavations beneath St. Peters Basilica. A forensic examination more than 20 years later found them to be a male of about 61 years of age from the first century. In 1968 Pope Paul VI declared them to be the relics of Saint Peter. These are now located under the main altar, pictured below, under Bernini's Baldacchino.




Here is a closer view of the Baldacchino, a 7-story bronze canopy over the main altar.





Because we were in St. Peters in the late afternoon, we were treated to this spectacular light show. The circular window surrounded by gold starbursts (in the center) was designed by Bernini and is directly above the Throne of St. Peter. It is called the Dove Window, because there is a dove, which represents the Holy Spirit, in the very center of the glass.







These people were gathering for the 5:00 mass that took place in front of St. Peter's throne and Bernini's starburst window.




Notice the dark wooden cabinets located to the left and to the right of the columns in the photo above. Below is a closer view of one of them. We think this is where the Priest hears confessions, but we're not sure.

Our first day in Italy

So, after a year of planning, we finally left Gainesville (using Garold's frequent flyer points with Delta Airlines) around 10AM Sunday morning and flew to New York, then on to Italy. By the time we arrived in Pisa it was Monday. I was able to sleep some on the plane, but I don't think Garold got much sleep. There were a lot of Italians on this flight, who were talking to one another in Italian (imagine that). Upon our arrival, it was just a short walk to the Hotel Royal Victoria. The building (at least part of it) has been there since the 10th century, and it has been run as a hotel by the Piegaja family since 1839. It is in a very busy location, but our room was on the 4th floor and in the back, so noise was not a problem.

This photo shows Garold standing at the bus stop across the street from our hotel (it is the five story white structure on the right), with the Arno River in the background. Our room number was 430, but it was on the top floor. This is because Europeans call the first floor the ground floor, the second floor the first floor, and so on. Oh, and you use the stairs to get up to the 4th/5th floor!


This was the key to our room. Very old fashioned, right? We had to spend a little time figuring out how to use it. It required two full turns of the tumbler to lock or unlock.

This was our private en suite bathroom. Some places have "private" bathrooms that are not actually located in the room (they may be down the hall, or even on a different floor). Notice the bidet in the back corner, complete with its own soap dish and towels. This was pretty much the standard throughout Italy! The shower was very tiny, but much appreciated. Just wait until we get to Rome, and you will understand why.

This is the view from the terrace that was on our floor. There were tables and chairs in case you wanted to hang out and have a cappuccino. At this time Garold wasn't yet hooked on them. But stay tuned: that will happen very soon!

Of course, a visit to Pisa would not be complete without the obligatory photos of the turiste holding up the leaning tower! Garold thought he could do it with just one finger.

Our efforts were unsuccessful, however. As you can see, the tower continues to lean.

As we strolled through the streets of Pisa, we passed by this cool bookstore.

We got pretty tired pretty quickly, so when we saw a park, we took advantage of the opportunity to sit down for a while. Children in Italy like to race their bikes just like the adults like to race their cars and Vespas!

No visit would be complete without a trip to the Duomo! It was amazing to see how these magnificent structures dominate the landscape of every Italian city.

Here is a close up of the giant front door. I wonder why they made them so huge.

This is a photo of the ceiling inside the church. They put a lot of work into ceilings and domes.

This photo was taken inside the Baptistry, which was a separate building from the Church. The acoustics in this building were so amazing! A guard chanted for us and we could hear his voice echo throughout the building. It sounded like three people were chanting instead of just one.

This photo was taken outside the Baptistry. Note the ancient wall of Pisa in the background.

This photo was taken through a window on the second floor of the Baptistry, where you can see the ancient wall of Pisa. This amorous couple most likely had no idea they would be in our vacation blog.

Tuesday morning we caught the bus to the train station and took the train to Rome. Bus tickets are purchased in Tobacco Shops in Italy. No problem, though. There is a Tobacco Shop on every block, and several in every train and metro station. We bought our Eurail Passes before we left home, from AAA in Gainesville, as well as the seat reservations on some of the trains. Seat reservations cost extra, but in some cases they are required, and they guarantee you a seat. We paid a premium for first class seats because we heard that they allow livestock on trains. I don't know where Italian livestock hangs out, but they weren't on the trains. Reservations for some local trains are not available. They just take you first come first served, and you may or may not get to sit down. You are supposed to write your passport number on the Eurail Pass, and each time you use it you have to write the date on the pass.