Florence Sights

We lucked out and the rains held off for a while and we were able to do some exploring.  We simply retraced many of our steps from when we were last here in 2005 and enjoyed Florence just as much now as we did then.

I'm sure Allie will post more but we're off to an early dinner with Henry and Marina, so ciao!

San Gimignano

Our Train from Rome to Florence was fast!  We got here in an hour and a half, cruising a top speeds of over 250 kilometers an hour (or nearly 160 mph).

After a short bit of navigation, we made our way to our friend's, Henry and Marina, apartment with much welcome.  After a short but delicious meal, we piled into Henry's car to go to San Gimignano to see an exhibition by a renowned contemporary Chinese artist.  The guy is certainly prolific, but contemporary art isn't my cup of tea, so after a bit I went out and took photos.

San Gimignano is a famous walled city (not a city by today's standards but certainly was back in the day) with many towers and is known as the 'Manhattan of Tuscany.'  There were more towers but many survive to this day.  We will have to come back during daytime in a future trip as it was getting pretty dark by the time we arrived.

Today it is pouring, so not much sightseeing, I'm afraid. Oh well, I expect we will catch up on a lot of other things.

Ciao!

Friday in Rome

Well, it is our last full day in Rome and we made the best of it.

We decided to see the Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, which has both his chains and a statue that Michaelangelo did of Moses for a Pope's sarcophagus (and wasn't used as the fellow was buried in the Vatican crypts). What was more fascinating was the use of a simple mirror the basilica set up for people to see the painted ceiling.

Then we wandered through the Esquiline Hill gardens and eventually made our way to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the five "big" ones in Rome.  It was quite grand and ornate and crowded.

Afterwards we serpentined our way to the Piazza della Repubblica, which was quite disquieting for me as I recognized that this place was where Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, held his Fascist rallies and the piazza still had all the flag poles with the fascist eagles and wolves. Creepy.

However, there is a fascinating church of Santa Maria deli Angeli, which was one the Diocletian Baths. There is an elaborate inlaid sun-transept which was until 1846 the regulator of time for the Romans.

By this time, weariness had set in and we hit the wall. Five steady days full of walking has worn us out so it was a simple lunch and then back to the apartment.  We will go out for dinner later, but it will be local and light.

Tomorrow the train and Florence for a few days before we return to Rome to fly home.

St. Peter in Chains Ceiling Mirror

One of the ubiquitous beggars

Funny Knocker

St. Ivo Courtyard

St. Peter in Chains Dome Interior

Santa Maria Maggior Dome Interior

Pigeon Trees

St. Peter in Chains Interior

Santa Maria Maggiore Window

Santa Maria Maggiore Inlays

Saint and Shadow, Santa Maria degli Angeli

Diocletian Baths Exterior

Vatican City

Today we were off to the Vatican City. Steve booked us tickets for a tour with "my Vatican tour", and it was well worth the price. We were in a small group of 15, our guide, Gabriella, was English speaking and we didn't have to wait in long lines for tickets. Certainly the way to go about it. Granted, we are here in the off season, but still, there were lots of people wanting to see the Vatican and its museums. Not the normal 35,000 a day that you will find during the peak times but still, a good number of people. Wandering around Rome the last few days you would see all these people wandering around with earphones and transmitters hanging from their necks. Now we have done so, and it makes so much sense! Your tour guide doesn't have to yell, you only hear your guides voice and you don't all have to tightly clustered around the guide to hear what they are saying. You can be wandering in the area looking at things as they fill you in. Anyway, after security, we entered an area where Gabriella spent about an hour telling us about the history of the Vatican, why it is a separate country, the hiring of Raphaele, and Michaelangelo, the process of painting the frescos, the meaning of the frescos and everything else we would need to know when looking at the Sistine Chapel. After officially entering the museum we spent an hour seeing various sections. To see all the art in the museum, it would take eight days, and we just don't have that kind of time, or interest. Then on to the Sistine Chapel for 15 minutes of alone time ( with hundreds of other tourists). The chapels were cleaned between 1970 with completion in 1992, funded by a Japanese TV network. No photos are allowed, although that didn't seems to stop people, and no talking is permitted. No matter how many times they would say "silencio" and "no talking," you just have to talk about what you are seeing, if nothing, let out a gasp or two at the emensity of the work. From the chapel, we moved on to the Basicila of St Peter. My two comments, it is VERY BAROQUE, and huge. Steve referred to it as the Grand Cayon of Catholic churches. Not to my taste, I prefer things a bit smaller in scale and simpler, but it does get its point across. Enjoy Steve's photos, no way do you get the detail or scale, even seeing the place in person it is hard to take in....

Day Three of Rome

We hope you all had a safe election day and the impending Nor'Easter will not cause you dismay.

Today was a busy one. We trekked to the Trevi Fountain, then the Spanish Steps, then the Piazza del Populo, then to the Colosseum again, then through the ruins atop the Palatine Hill, then through the Roman Forum ruins, all before lunch.

After a fair to middling lunch, we took a slight break back at the apartment.  Then this evening was a time for some night photography of Rome, a short hike to the Vatican, which we will see in depth tomorrow, then back to the Campo di Fiore, where we had dinner that was memorable in its terrible service, and back to the room.

I'll leave you with some images and I'll get cracking on reading up on the Vatican.

Roman Alleyway

The Vatican at Night

Trevi Fountain

Piazza del Populo

Spanish Steps

Another Church Interior

Old and New Again

Forum Ruins

Ruin Detail

Castelo Sant Angelo