Florence

We left Rome by high speed train and headed for Florence.  Tuscany region and I was so looking forward to getting some great pictures.  However, it turns out that there are a great many tunnels on route to Florence and the train moves so quickly that by the time I got ready to shoot the picture - presto into another tunnel.  So no pictures of the Tuscan country side. 

Upon arriving in Florence we moved to our hotel but they'd mixed up our reservations and we ended up in a sister hotel.  This hotel and it's courtyard are quite beautiful, however the rooms leave a lot to be desired,  but since we were only there for two days we decided not to complain.  Maybe we should have but what can you do. 

Unlike in Rome where a lot of places are still open, we were surprised to discover that everything closes during the month of August between 3 and 7 p.m. so we simply walked around the neighbourhood.  Unlike Rome this area is quite pretty and much cleaner. 

The details of the homes in this area were beautifully maintained.

 

 

 

As our hotel required reservations for the dinner and we were supposed to be at another hotel, we had to find somewhere else to eat.  While I ate the best meals I've had in a long time in Rome, I found the best pizza I've ever had in my life in Florence.  A little place so small you might miss it if you blinked, it was right out of a Disney set.  The owner took orders, made the pizza's (there is a sign indicating that they only serve pizza's and to go somewhere else if you want something else), he also took phone orders, served everyone and cleared the tables.  He did everything alone and it was amazing.  I found a great Italian wine here as well. 

 

Next up... The sights of Florence...

 

Walking and Shopping in Rome

After the Vatican we moved to the Altare della Patria (Alter of the Fatherland). 

 

The two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on roman chariots stand out all around the main tourist area of Rome.

There is controversy about this building - too Greek or something but it's quite beautiful nonetheless. 

Our guide informed us that we would not be visiting the steps but we should just follow the shopping street across from us and we would find them on the right hand side.  My interpretation of this was that it wasn't that far down.  Wrong - I'd left our map back at the hotel and discovered that it was actually quite a hike.  I figured we would shop after getting pictures.  Well after a long, hot, exhausting (and sometimes uphill) climb we finally found the Spanish Steps.  We were much closer when we were boarding the bus to the Vatican, but who knew.  At any rate... I was disappointed to discover that the Trinità dei Monti church at the top was once again under construction. 

 

Very disappointing after all that walking but the steps were pretty.  I discovered the hard way that walking on marble steps isn't as simple as you think - they can be quite slippery. 

 

 

The home of John Keats (English poet).

 

 

The Spanish steps loaded with tourists.

 

At the bottom is the famous shopping district of Rome where all of the high fashion houses are represented.  Exhausted but ready to begin some serious shopping I headed into the first shop I found that sold beautiful leather gloves.  Unfortunately, I discovered that my hands were still too puffy from the flight to properly try on gloves.  Then there was the buzz kill - my son.   Shopping is not his thing and the thought of his mother loose in designer stores was causing him great concern and he kept edging me towards the doors of every shop we were in - very annoying.  One look in a mirror though was all the discouragement I needed.  I looked terrible - the heat and humidity had caused my hair to look like a frizzy mess and my swollen feet were aching from all the walking and the left over jet lag finally did me in.  We would take a taxi back to our hotel. 

 

For those planning on visiting Rome in the future - the average price for a cab within the inner walls of Rome is about $12.00.  Worth every penny to me.  Sadly this was our last day in Rome and it took me this long to figure it out.  I would have cabbed it much sooner and enjoyed Rome so much more if I'd know the price of a cab.  Jet Lag is much harder on you the older you get.

 

Up Next... Florence...

 

 

The Vatican

Once inside the Vatican you can suddenly see how impressive Rome was in ancient times. A lot of the marble came from other structures.  That said it's amazing to see and almost mind boggling.  This is a city within a city and is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world. 

We spent all of our time in St. Peters square.  We could have done more but we would have to leave the tour and we were at the other end of the city from our hotel.  In hindsight - we should have left the tour and explored this area more and I was willing but my son wasn't interested as there was more he wanted to see. 

 

St. Peter's Basilica

 

 We aren't Catholic so for some reason my son (who I might add went to a Catholic high school) felt superstitious about going inside.  He wouldn't elaborate.  Some deep dark secret there me thinks. 

 

 

The pope wasn't there - I believe he was returning from state visit - but these are the only evidence I found of the infamous Swiss Guards - keeping people away from the Pope's residence.

 

The current pope's residence.  He's infamously chosen not to live in the Papal palace.

 

In between the columns

 

The obelisk brought back from Egypt by Caligula and it's here Saint Peter (one of the original disciples of Jesus) was crucified upside-down by Nero - Christians were blamed by Nero for the great fire of Rome. 

 

 

 

The Papal palace is above and the pope (when in town) addresses the faithful from the second window from the right.

 

Surrounding streets

 

Apostles looking down upon me. 

 

The triangular shaped building behind the basilica façade is the building where the infamous smoke stack stands that all cameras are focused on when their deciding on a new pope.

 

The dome - amazing inside - the are lots of images online.

 

The pope addresses the crowds at Easter from this balcony

 

My fear of heights would never get me up there even with the high wire fences.  It's an amazing view though.

 

Next up... The final stop on the tour and the Spanish Steps...

The Tour

We finally made the tour the next morning and set off in a bus for a ride to our starting point across the city.  Lucky for us we visited the Coliseum and the forum the day before because this wasn't included on our tour.  The one spot that they advised us we wouldn't see, we did.  The Trevi Fountain is under repairs for about a year.  They started in June - why they would begin at the start of the tourist season is beyond me - why not wait three more months, however, I'm sure there must be a reason

 

This is how the Trevi Fountain usually looks.  However below is what we saw.

 

 

On the up side they have constructed a bridge so that you an walk out over the fountain.  A view you wouldn't  ordinarily get, but it is up close and personal and you can see more detail.  Still I would have loved to have seen this before they started or after they're finished.   What I was struck by here is how small the square is - the fountain covers most of it and they buildings on the sides crowd it in.  I'll bet this would be an amazing site from one of those apartments and cost a fortune.  Buying a place overlooking these monuments is difficult.  They are rarely up for sale since they are handed down from one generation to the next.  Prime real-estate. 

 

 

These little busts are everywhere in Rome and lit at night.  My only regret is that we were so jet lagged that we never made it out to see everything lit up at night.  I really missed out on something here since I'm told it's quite the sight.  My son was concerned about the beggars living on the streets - they were everywhere come morning.  How they sleep with people picking their way around them is beyond me.

 

 

See looking up - love the architectural details here.  There is nothing plain and simple about Italy.  Everything is ornate and adorned.  Beautiful.

 

 

Trajan's Column commemorates the Roman Emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.  The carved images that spiral around the column describes the wars between the Romans and Dacians - basically for those who couldn't read at the time.  There are a number of embassies around this column.  The only way relics weren't desecrated in Rome was to have the church officially sanction it a religious shrine and no one was touch it.  It's the only way these monuments remain.

 

 

The Pantheon

 

I couldn't help but think about the movie Angels and Demons but since the Catholic church found the offensive, most of those scenes were filmed on sets at Sony.  Still there did a really good job.  The interior of this church is amazing and it was here that I truly began to see the beauty of Rome once must have been in ancient times. 

 

 

It's been standing for almost two thousand years and the dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.  This church has remained it use all this time and services are held there every Sunday. 

 

 

The alter - it's almost impossible to get good shots without tourists walking into your shot. 

 

Ahhh - those architectural details - so stunning - and the marble - wow.

 

My attempt at a artistic shot.

 

 

A close up of the image above the alter.

 

Stunning isn't it?

 

My favorite statue - there are many and I took pictures of them all but I'm not going to post them all.

 

The Tomb of Princess Margherita of Savoy - apparently the Margherita Pizza was named after her.

 

 

This image is from Wikipedia - there were just too many people in my way to get a good shot.  Below is the tomb of the painter Raphael.

 

 

The sarcophagus of Rapheal - the inscription on the lid of his sarcophagus reads "Here lies that famous Raphael by whom Nature feared to be conquered while he lived, and when he was dying, feared herself to die." - in Italian of course.

 

The holes in the floor are for drainage when it rains.  Can you imagine sitting on one of those benches during a rainy Sunday with water pouring in?

 

 

The Pantheon sits in Piazza della Rotonda - the fountain is the Fontana del Pantheon.  The column in the centre was pilfered from Egypt and is called the Macuteo obelisk, created during the period of Ramses II.  The base is decorated with four dolphins.  Very pretty but again loaded with tourists. 

 

 

Just in front of the fountain is one of my favourite features of Rome - little water fountains are littered about all over Rome - my advise - have a bottle to fill when you start out and fill up whenever you find one.  Bottled water is expensive in Rome.

 

 

Piazza Novona holds three major fountains, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (or Fountain of Four Rivers) by Bernini, and this is a great spot to while away some time.  We didn't since our tour had a bus to catch.  Very disappointing. 

 

 

The Piazza also houses the Palazzo Pamphilj, designed by Rainaldi which currently houses and is owned by the Brazilian embassy.

 

 

Apparently it was rumoured that Bermini and Rainaldi didn't like each other that much and like spoiled children deliberately designed they're statues not to look at each others work. 

 

 

 

As mentioned we were late for our bus so we weren't able to linger here as long as I would have like to and we completely missed the Fontana del Moro (Moor Fountain) but I've included an image grabbed from Wikipedia.

 

 

The Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune) we did get to see and it was lovely.

 

 

I fell in love with this square and intended to return on my own later.  I never did we simply ran out of time.  The downside of tours.

 

 

Off to the Vatican - above is the Castel Sant'Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel or Castle St.Angelo).  Currently a museum it was once a fortress and a prison.  As a prison, it's the setting for the third act of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, where the heroine leaps to her death from the Castel's ramparts.

 

Next up... The Vatican, and more...