Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Day 3: Goodbye to Rome and on to Florence
F
Inside Lorenzo Doumo
El Doumo
We have finished Rome (the last pictures are of Rome). Our last stop was the Spanish Steps, which were conveniently located outside the restaurant that we visited on our last evening there. Our cab driver got lost taking us back to the hotel, but we nevertheless arrived after he stopped and asked for directions. The next morning it was off ot the train station for a short trip to Florence. Our hotel is very near El Doumo and the marketplace outside the Lorenzo Doumo. We did some shopping and then toured the Lorenzo Doumo, which was built by the Medici family. The two bronze pulpits barely visible in the picture (this was the only picture I took before we were told no pictures) are the last work of Donatello. He is also buried there. It was a beautiful church.
Inside Lorenzo Doumo
El Doumo
We have finished Rome (the last pictures are of Rome). Our last stop was the Spanish Steps, which were conveniently located outside the restaurant that we visited on our last evening there. Our cab driver got lost taking us back to the hotel, but we nevertheless arrived after he stopped and asked for directions. The next morning it was off ot the train station for a short trip to Florence. Our hotel is very near El Doumo and the marketplace outside the Lorenzo Doumo. We did some shopping and then toured the Lorenzo Doumo, which was built by the Medici family. The two bronze pulpits barely visible in the picture (this was the only picture I took before we were told no pictures) are the last work of Donatello. He is also buried there. It was a beautiful church.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
All Roads Lead to Rome
Our flights to Philadelphia and Rome were both uneventful, but full, which meant crowded rows and aisles. Neither of us slept extremely well, but we were both good to go when we arrived in Rome at 9:oo in the morning. After checking in at The Bailey's Hotel (they even had our room ready for us!), we ventured out and rode the Metro to St. Peter's Square and the Vatican Museum. Nick and I remembered eating a fantastic pizza at a restaurant near the Vatican so we tried to locate it again. We found it just around the corner as we remembered and ate pizza and pasta for lunch. It was as good the second time around, too!
We met our tour group soon after lunch and enjoyed an extensive tour of the Vatican Museums led by an art history major. Ginette, our tour guide, gave us so much information about the statuary, paintings, tapestries, and Sistine Chapel that I think my head is going to explode, but Nick and I both loved every minute of it. The one piece we both remarked was ironic is that the facade and inside of the Bascilica were made by taking off the facades of the Collesium and other ancient Roman temples. I guess in this case, they stole from Ceasar to pay Peter! By the time we finished at the Basilica, it was dark outside. I have never visited this area of Rome at night and was amazed at its beauty. There was a tall Christmas tree in the middle of the Square lit in blue lights and an incredible nativity scene between the fountains. To see the Basilica illuminated in the darkness was stunning. Our guide even pointed out to us that it looked like the Pope was home because the lights were on in the Papal apartments. Because we thought the day would be somewhat warm and sunny, we left our coats at the hotel. We quickly learned that Rome is somewhat like Indiana in that the weather changes quickly so it was extremely cold by the time we took our tour and even more so by the time we finished. We took a warm cab back to the hotel and saw some beautiful sights of Rome at night.
Today was cold, rainy and windy, but we braved the weather (with coats and gloves!) and took a walking tour of Ancient Rome. We started at the Collesium and then went to the Roman Forum, and, yes, today it was open! Our guide was Valentina and she's a native Roman who speaks English with a British accent. She's actually an archeologist by training and even excavated a section of the Forum while she was in school. Although we only saw the highlights, Nick was humbled to see the prison where Peter and Paul were held before their deaths and to walk along the Via Sacra, a 2,000 year old road. After the Forum, we walked by what the Italians mockingly call "The Wedding Cake," a monument to the first king of Italy, and then to Trivi Fountain where we both threw in coins. The last two stops on our three hour tour were the Pantheon (a stunning building) and Piazza Novonna. The streets we walked through were quinessestinal European and we stopped to shop at markets set up along them. In trying to find a taxi stand for the trip home, we happened upon the Hard Rock Rome and stopped in to see what they have in Rome. Tonight, Nick is hoping to eat authentic lasagna and I may join him instead of eating spaghetti with meat sauce! I vow to learn how to say that in Italian before I leave! Tomorrow we're off to Florence for three days. I hope we have internet access there, as well, so we can keep you all up-to-date on our trip.
We met our tour group soon after lunch and enjoyed an extensive tour of the Vatican Museums led by an art history major. Ginette, our tour guide, gave us so much information about the statuary, paintings, tapestries, and Sistine Chapel that I think my head is going to explode, but Nick and I both loved every minute of it. The one piece we both remarked was ironic is that the facade and inside of the Bascilica were made by taking off the facades of the Collesium and other ancient Roman temples. I guess in this case, they stole from Ceasar to pay Peter! By the time we finished at the Basilica, it was dark outside. I have never visited this area of Rome at night and was amazed at its beauty. There was a tall Christmas tree in the middle of the Square lit in blue lights and an incredible nativity scene between the fountains. To see the Basilica illuminated in the darkness was stunning. Our guide even pointed out to us that it looked like the Pope was home because the lights were on in the Papal apartments. Because we thought the day would be somewhat warm and sunny, we left our coats at the hotel. We quickly learned that Rome is somewhat like Indiana in that the weather changes quickly so it was extremely cold by the time we took our tour and even more so by the time we finished. We took a warm cab back to the hotel and saw some beautiful sights of Rome at night.
Today was cold, rainy and windy, but we braved the weather (with coats and gloves!) and took a walking tour of Ancient Rome. We started at the Collesium and then went to the Roman Forum, and, yes, today it was open! Our guide was Valentina and she's a native Roman who speaks English with a British accent. She's actually an archeologist by training and even excavated a section of the Forum while she was in school. Although we only saw the highlights, Nick was humbled to see the prison where Peter and Paul were held before their deaths and to walk along the Via Sacra, a 2,000 year old road. After the Forum, we walked by what the Italians mockingly call "The Wedding Cake," a monument to the first king of Italy, and then to Trivi Fountain where we both threw in coins. The last two stops on our three hour tour were the Pantheon (a stunning building) and Piazza Novonna. The streets we walked through were quinessestinal European and we stopped to shop at markets set up along them. In trying to find a taxi stand for the trip home, we happened upon the Hard Rock Rome and stopped in to see what they have in Rome. Tonight, Nick is hoping to eat authentic lasagna and I may join him instead of eating spaghetti with meat sauce! I vow to learn how to say that in Italian before I leave! Tomorrow we're off to Florence for three days. I hope we have internet access there, as well, so we can keep you all up-to-date on our trip.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
The Excitement Builds
Amid the chaos of Christmas, Nick and I are preparing our 20th anniversary trip to Italy. As the trip has gotten closer, we decided we're glad that we chose Italy instead of Greece. At one point, we had talked to our travel agent about visting a warmer climate than Italy in December, but Nick concluded that he'd rather spend more time seeing sights we'd just glanced at on our 1990 trip, including the Roman Forum. Our agent assures us that it won't be closed this time and we'll avoid the rioting in Athens in the process! Until we leave, though, I'm trying to finalize all of the details of packing, leaving instructions for the kids, and keeping the house in some sort order while still hoping to keep a feeling of Christmas hope and joy through tomorrow. Wish me luck and stay tuned for more travel tales from the Kiles!
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