Well, we knew it would happen: we got to Rome, the third city on our Rick Steves' tour.
I had visited in 1975 and wasn't thrilled with it then: too big, too old and the Romans were mean to Jesus! (Well, not IN Rome, but you know what I mean..)
If you click on this yellow flower picture, you'll see all the pollen on the strands in the middle. Quite amazing, really.
Every darn thing in Rome had steps! This is part of the stairway up to St. Peter in Chains Church. Well worth a visit. More on that later.
Cobblestone walkway for Lisa.
Domo shared Alex's pork dish.
Jesus is no longer on the cross. I kept thinking that when visiting all the churches. I know why they depict Him this way, but there should also be ones where He isn't on the cross!
The Rick Steves tour people are so great, we rarely had to stand even in a short line...and certainly not one like this one to the left!
We had special permission that day to actually stand on the stage in the Coliseum.
This statue of Moses is in the St. Peter in Chains church.
My dish was cream cheese, prosciutto and nuts. It was actually an appetizer, but was enough for me that day. We kinda overate in Italy. Needless to say, that didn't change in Paris, either.
The ceiling in St. Peter in Chains.
The relic of St Peter's chains, purportedly. We heard about many relics, and it was apparently a very important thing for a church to have some part of Christ in their churches. I heard that if all the pieces of the Cross that were supposedly found and put together, the Cross would be much larger than it actually was.
This was quite an awesome visit. We learned a lot about those days of "entertainment". Most notably that often there was no one killed on a particular day, as they would have run out of enough people before long...
So, Rome not my fave and by this Roma visit, we had walked and walked and walked in Venice and Florence, so my knee was pooped! But our very kind guide helped me find the elevator up and stayed with me until we could re-join the group. He was great. Thanks to him and Rick Steves for a great tour of Italy.
Well, of course there was beer in Florence! I loved the glass they gave Alex.
Some paintings are so famous, it's almost boring to see them. But in the real deal, this painting did take on a vibrancy. Our local guide gave us the lowdown on this painting. It is quite busy and packed with background info.
My drink of choice in Italy became Campari Spritz. Some say it's too bitter, but I loved it: Campari, Prosecco (the Italian version of champagne) and club soda. Very refreshing in hot Italy.
But we were saved from totally sweating by being here in May; the weather was sometimes cloudy, which made walking around less hot. And the Rick Steves folks kept us out of too many lines. Our guide said that in June and July, it's incredibly more crowded! My sis-in-law said in July, they've had temps of 100!
For my pal, Lisa. She loves the cobblestones. Glad I didn't have to wear heels! And note the grass and plants find any opportunity to grow, even in a hostile clime like that.
No matter how many times you've seen a photo of Michelangelo's David, in person it is completely awesome.
Souvenirs NOT completely awesome. I had to laugh. And no, I didn't buy one.
From the ridiculous to the sublime: above is Caravaggio's painting of Thomas checking that Jesus really was the Messiah by putting his finger in the wounds.
Of course there was a lot of pasta, which was really good. After the trip, we purchased a pasta-making machine. Tried it last night and the result was awesome.
And gelato! We didn't have gelato every day, but it sure was tempting.
People always have to have fun with paintings..
I was surprised to learn that in many paintings, the artist puts himself in the painting. Not sure with this one, but I enjoyed the horses.
Yes, a leather telephone!
We learned that at that time, it was not cool to have females posing nude for paintings. So you'll notice that many of the paintings of women appear very masculine: our local guide told us that they used male models and just added breasts to make it a woman.
In France, it would be called patisserie. Not sure the Italian name, but am sure they were beautiful desserts.
It is hard to see, but there is a swallow in the upper right of the photo. The birds were all over, swooping over the river for bugs. (I noted this is NOT good snorkeling water.)
Yes, we even occasionally ate salad.
For Lisa, a stamp store!
The Arno and some of its bridges. Quite lovely. But look at the orange-ish building in the middle of the bridge. Would you want your house out over the river that way?
There was a whole thing about white dogs: they were pictured in some paintings at the time. I will check with Alex on the why, but once you start looking for it, it's kind of amazing how many white dogs one sees.
I will continue the Florence info soon. But now, want to check for octo-action! Have a great Memorial Day.
I think Florence is one of my favorite Italian cities. Granted, I haven't been to that many Italian cities recently, but this is one I really enjoy.
Below, a cistern...water was kept in here. And I thought of Biblical Joseph, who was thrown into one by his brothers...Imagine trying to get out!
For my pal, Lisa, who loves cobblestones..
Cooling off with Alex.
A cross without Jesus on it! Thank you, God, for His resurrection! Most of the Catholic crosses still have Jesus on them....
Doors. These panels depict Bible stories, and were made by artists who competed for the honor.
Amazing churches. Each one different.
John baptising Jesus.
Me and my Tilley hat!
My faithful naviguesser:
Just a few of the wonderful shop windows...
The outside David. This is a copy of the one that is inside.
Even old statues must endure pigeon poop. Note how muscular. The people of that time were not able to view women models, so they made male bodies and put female parts on them as they needed.
Statue of Michelangelo....do you know his last name?
This was a street artist, who painted himself all in silver to ask for coins.
Hotel Silla balcony. We could have breakfast out there. Quite lovely.
A wooden facade of the planned facade for the church.
You could not pay me enough to get on this crane!!
