Italy Greece 2017 Part 1
Rome airport waiting for the other groups that will be added to our group.
Our guide for the trip is Roberto. Luigi is our driver.
Rome apartments. Everyone has a balcony.
Lots of graffiti.
More balconies plus a flower stand.
Our first view of Castel Sant'Angelo which is also the Mausoleum of Hadrian.
Whenever they dig they discover ruins. The subway has been difficult to finish because of this.
After leaving our luggage at the hotel we were dropped off near the Vatican to hike around.
Roberto told us about every site.
The streets were filled with people, art and vendors.
This is "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" (Fountain of the four rivers)
by Gianlorenzo Bernini in piazza Navona topped by the obelisk of Domitian.
The Pantheon. It survived the ravages of being ancient because
it was used as a Roman temple and then a church.
We did not get there very early so the building was quite crowded.
Niches now filled with Christian statues and not Rowan deities.
Everyone is taking pictures.
I do love the hole in the top.
Pizza for dinner at Origano Trevi. Sat with two kids from Oklahoma.
Lots of government buildings in the area.
The Doric Column of Marcus Aurilius in Piazza Colonna has a spiral relief.
It celebrates the triumph over the Marcomanni, Quadi and Sarmatians in the year 176.
Neat ceiling.
Big crowd at the nearby Trevi Fountain. Built in 1762 by artist Nicola Salvi.
Decorations at the Trevi.
In the nearby Basilica di Sant'Andrea delle Fratte. The Chapel of St. Anne.
Our leader, Ester.
After our pizza and, of course, gelato we walked to the Spanish Steps.
A very popular spot to people watch.
The next morning we are off for an early visit to the Vatican.
Balconies but with lots of greenery
Nice rooftop garden deck. We saw many of these.
The walls of the Vatican are really high. Thousands of people lined up in large groups.
We wait in a courtyard for our turn.
Our guide, Franco, tells us about the art, Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel paintings.
The next courtyard. Getting close.
Each corridor got better and better.
The ceilings too.
An inner courtyard. The Vatican is a big place.
Lots of sculpture.
The Apollo Belvedere
Cute.
This is after she checked out her new hairdo in the mirror.
Ceilings were nice.
This one mimics the Pantheon.
Red porphyry. Sarcophogus of Costanze