Rome-Day 1

Rome- Day 1

We drove from Carrara to Rome.  Bob's family has an apartment there, where his niece Laura lives.  She generously let us stay there while we explored Rome.  We spent two days there and walked at least a hundred miles.  There was so much to see, and so little time.  We took the bus into ancient Rome the first day and explored the "Vittoriano" or Victor Emmanuel Monument. This is where Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is- and where Bob was a guard while he was in the Italian Military. We walked from there to the Colosseum and through the Forum (ancient ruins) and then made our way to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.  It was a VERY HOT day, and we ate lots of gelato and splashed in the fountains every chance we got.   

Inside the colosseum- where the lions and Christians were kept in tunnels and cages under the arena floor.  It is now rotted away- but still frightening to think that watching people being eaten by lions was entertaining...

Walking through Ancient Rome

The Forum ruins

The Pantheon Dome

The Pantheon

Pantheon Fountains- moments before my big wipe out on the slippery steps!

 The Vittoriano- in the day

The Vittoriano- at night

St. Agnes Church in the Piazza Navona

Inside St. Agnes Church

Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain in the Piazza Navona  

Beautiful flowers on the Church of St. Agnes

My size of Nutella!

There were beautiful fountains at every turn.

Magicians and street entertainers were everywhere! We were serenaded by an accordion as we ate Pizza in the Piazza.

Florence

Florence

Our trip to Florence started late because I hesitated, and we missed our train.  I misreading the train schedule, and in that 30 seconds of hesitation the train stopped and took off before we could get on.  It was an awful feeling and I was so embarrassed. Brad and Em were pretty good sports considering... We took the next train. 

 We visited the Uffizi Gallery first and paid the scalpers price to move to the head of the line.  The greatest paintings and sculptures in all of Italy are at the Uffizi, but there was so much to see it was overwhelming.  We specifically searched out Botticelli's, Michelangelo, Leonardo's and Rembrandt works.  I was reading Dan Browns book "Inferno" (Dante's inferno) and I used it like a mini-travel guide to search for clues and paintings mentioned in the book. 

We were not so lucky at the Accademia museum, where we waited in line for over 2 hours in the heat for tickets.  But, the statue of David was well worth it, as you can see.  

We made a quick run through town and visited the Duomo, the Baptistery, and walked down to the Arno River, where we bought gelato to cool off.

The Baptistry and the Duomo  of Florence

Bottecelli's painting of Dante's version of Hell (Inferno)

The Duomo of Florence

The great golden doors of the baptistery

The Campanille Bell Tower