Rome, Italy.....the eternal city

Coming into Rome from the airport my excitement was building and I am snapping pics of everything.

The traffic was interesting with all small cars and many motor scooters whipping in and out.

After dropping our luggage off at our hotel because it was too early to check in our tour guide suggested we walk around exploring. Our first stop was a gelato shop. I chose strawberry which is called fragola in italian.

Many pastries were also available. We left eating our gelato and quickly made our way to the Spanish Steps.

Mr. Roman Soldier wanted to have his picture made with me.  We declined but later I zoomed in for this picture.

Having seen the Spanish steps in movies I couldn't wait to see them myself. Before we left on our trip we watched Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. I have always loved watching this old movie (made in 1953) It is a wonderful classic movie with great scenes of Rome.  The other recent movie with views particularly of the Spanish Steps is Woody Allen's latest, 'To Rome with Love 'staring Allison Pill, Flavio Parenti and Woody Allen himself.

I will say I would like to be on the Spanish Steps in May when they place large pots of blooming azaleas. All the coffee table books and post cards you see show the flowers. The stairway leads to France's 16th century church of Trinità dei Monti.

That's me and having been on a plane all night I was feeling great at that moment but it did catch up with me later that afternoon.

This fountain is at the bottom of the steps. It is called the sinking boat fountain and is powered by an aqueduct as is all Rome's fountains.  As you can see tourists are everywhere.

This is our room and as soon as I snapped these pics we were ready for a nap.

This is the view from our window in the Romanico Palace Hotel.

View of the wall around the old city of Rome taken from our tour bus with Insight Tours. The name of our tour with Insight is called, The Best of Italy. We will travel to Assisi, Venice, Pisa, Florence, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii and back to Rome in 10 days. Please join me as I post about our travels.  This picture was taken from our bus on our way to the welcome reception the first evening that was held in a restaurant across the street from the Colosseum.

The food was wonderful and we were excited to meet the 39 people on our tour.

This is my husband's head sitting at our table on the rooftop of the hotel. We were thrilled to enjoy dinner with an amazing view.

As the sun began to set I was in awe of where I was.
After dinner we had an illuminated tour of the city. We stopped  and viewed the Vatican and then walked up Capitoline Hill past the statue of Marcus Aurelius and looked down upon the Roman Forum at night under a beautiful full moon.

 The Vatican at night with St Peter's Basilica in the background. The impressive facade with Christ the Redeemer(19 feet high )in the center with St John the Baptist and 11 Apostles in travertine.

 Capitoline Hill.

 Replica of the original Marcus Aurelius.

 Romulus and Remus, twin brothers according to legend were orphaned as infants and raised by a she wolf. Romulus is given credit for founding ancient Rome.

These are just a few of the sites we saw that evening.

Day two in Rome began touring the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. We were not allowed to make photographs in the Sistine Chapel and complete silence was requested.

A roman chariot.

Huge amazing tapestries.

Unbelievable ceilings.

Massive doors with intricate carvings.

 Michelangelo sculpted his Pietà when he was 25 years old. The only work of his actually signed resides in St. Peter's.

 Gorgeous marble floors!

 Bernini's seven foot bronze canopy is over the main altar that sits over St. Peter's tomb.

 St. Peter's Basilica's dome is the biggest anywhere. It is Michelangelo's last work. No building in Rome is allowed to be taller than St. Peter's.

 Pictures are allowed because all the painting are actually mosaics. In this zoomed pic you can see the individual tiles.

Scaffolding covered areas being restored. It was crowded even at 8:30 in the morning. Because we were in a tour group we were able to bypass the long lines and go in a side door. I didn't get a good pic of the enormous square and the construction is distracting so for good views google St Peter's square and The Vatican.

The second window from the right is where the Pope appears. www.google.com/search?q=window+at+the+vatican+where+the++pope +appears to see pictures.

You can see the statues of Christ, John the Baptist and the eleven apostles clearer here than in the previous night picture.

Hadrian's tomb also known as Castel S. Angelo (English: Castle of the Holy Angel). I snapped this pic from the moving bus. What I have been intrigued about is the pedestrian bridge that  is lined with angel sculptures that I have read about and wish I could have seen. The name of the bridge with the angels that leads to Castel Sant'Angelo is Ponte Sant'Angelo. I think you can see one of the angels on the far right of this picture. I am not sure if this is the Ponte Sant'Angelo but I think it must be. Also,you can barely make out the  bronze angel statue of Archangel Michael on the roof of Hadrian's Mausoleum in my pic. Since I did throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain I am supposed to return to Rome. I am already compiling my list of things to see and photograph that time did not allow us to do on this trip. For now, it is such a blessing to be able to google just about everything and learn more about it. You may view the Pont Sant' Angelo here. If anyone knows more about this bridge please tell me.

Victor Emmanuel Memorial was built to celebrate the  50th anniversary of the unification of the country.

The Colosseum could accommodate 70,000 spectators.

The marble seats were for the dignitaries.

This photo is our Insight Tour group photo. Our group was made up of people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U. S.  I highly recommend Insight Tours. They are organized and efficient as well as very knowledgable. We breezed right into places like the Vatican and the Colosseum without waiting in lines.  I learned the standard spelling for an outdoor stadium is "coliseum" but  the one in Rome is called the "Colosseum." My husband and I have traveled on our own before in France and
England. The Best of Italy tour was our first  organized tour in Europe. We could not have covered the ground we did in the short amount of time without their expertise. The days began early and ended late but were exciting and fun.

After the full day of seeing the sites with our tour group there was a optional group walking tour of Trevi and  Piazza Navona and we chose to take a taxi and strike out on our own.  By this time my feet needed a rest.

Crowds at the Trevi Fountain.  So much excitement in the air.

The tradition to throw a coin in the fountain insures that you will make a return trip. I did my part hoping to return someday. My husband threw one in in 1967 and he did make a return.

It is the largest of Rome's fountains and is spectacular.

I couldn't get enough snaps along with many other people!

After seeing the Trevi fountain we stopped for an apertivo and then took a taxi to Piazza Navona. On this particular night we were on our own for dinner away from the tour group. There were optional extra excursions frequently and we chose this night to be on our own.

The two fountains are spectacular.

Four rivers fountain.

We ate on the square  in a little outside cafe people watching and enjoying listening to a combo that played the memorable  la ve en rose.
 Can you believe my husband's plate? I had a great  caprese pizza.

The sunset was gorgeous and the bells began ringing in the bell tower. Quite a magical evening.

We didn't want the evening to end. It was a full moon and so beautiful. Tomorrow we head to Assisi and then Venice. I know this was a long post so thank you for your attention. Stay tuned for more. It was a fabulous trip that I am excited to share. If there are any errors please feel free to let me know.

Joining The Tablescaper for Oh, the PLACES, I've been, Inspire Me Tuesday,  Wow Us Wednesday's,  What's It Wednesdays and Seasonal Sundays.

Other Italy posts:  Venice and the Magic of Serenissima
                              Assisi, Italy ~The Birthplace of St Francis