Rome

Saturday April 27
No tours today, just walking around on our own.  Our flight back to Ireland leaves tomorrow afternoon, with a layover in Amsterdam.  Here's some pictures of the area near our hotel.  We are near the Termini train station, and will be taking the Leonardo Express train to the airport.  Very convenient.

Sistine Chapel and Spanish Steps

Friday April 26

Today was a visit to the Vatican Museum and the Spanish Steps.  The Vatican Museum includes galleries and halls of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, tapestries, maps, religious art, modern art, Matisse, mosaics, statues, and of course Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.  Pictures can be taken in every gallery and hall except for the Sistine Chapel.  But I snapped one picture just as I was leaving the chapel.  

The Spanish Steps are really picturesque and I walked to the top, 132 steps, then down again. 

Sistine Chapel

Vatican Museum Entrance

Vatican Museum Greek Antiquity Gallery

Vatican Museum Roman Antiquity Gallery

Vatican Museum Roman Antiquity Gallery

Vatican Museum Roman Antiquity Gallery

Vatican Museum Tapestry Gallery

Vatican Museum Map Gallery

Vatican Museum

 Vatican Museum Ceiling

Vatican Museum

Vatican Garden

Spanish Steps

View from top of Spanish Steps

Coliseum and Forum

Thursday April 25

The afternoon tour took us to St. Peter in Chains Church, the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, and the Forum.  St. Peter in Chains Roman Catholic Church is best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses.  The Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city.  Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium.  The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several ancient government buildings.  Of everything we saw so far we liked the Coliseum and ancient ruins the best. They were amazing to see.

Coliseum

Coliseum

Coliseum

Coliseum

Roman soldier

Michelangelo's statue of Moses

 The Forum

The Forum

Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and St. Peter's Basilica

Thursday April 25
This morning we took a tour to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and St. Peter's Basilica.  

I threw a coin into Trevi fountain.  The proper way is to stand with your back to the fountain and toss any coin from your right hand over your left shoulder.  According to custom this will ensure your return to Rome.
The Pantheon is the only Roman structure that is in the original condition and has not been restored.  It now houses the Basilica Santa Maria Church.  The columns in the Pantheon were made in Egypt and brought to Rome via the waterways.  They weigh 80 tons each.

In St. Peter's Basilica we saw the famous Pieta sculpture carved by Michelangelo and the only one he ever signed.  

Some interesting Pope facts:

Pope Francis has chosen to live in the same apartment he stayed in when he was a visiting cardinal.  

Retired Pope Benedict does not live in St. Peter's, but is currently living in the Pope's Summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.  

Pope John Paul II, in his 50's when elected to Pope, liked to jog and could be seen jogging in the Basilica's gardens.

Some Popes are buried or entombed in the Basilica and in other areas of Rome, while others are mummified and on display in St. Peter's.

That was our morning tour.  This afternoon we are going on another 3-hour tour...a 3-hour tour.

Trevi Fountain

 

Egyptian Obelisk

The Pantheon

The Tiber River

The symbol of Vatican City

Michelangelo's Pieta

St. Peter's Tomb

Mummified Pope

Pope Francis apartment is top floor second window on right

 

 

Pope Francis

Wednesday April 24
I went to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City this morning.  Each Wednesday and Sunday morning there is a papal audience where Pope Francis blesses the masses.  He is certainly a Pope for the people and seems to be very well-liked.  He rode through the crowd on the Pope-mobile for about 45 minutes before the blessing, waving and shaking hands.  He also got out and walked a bit, hugging those close by.  They estimated 50,000 people were there today.  I was only able to catch glimpses of him through the crowds as he drove through and didn't get very close.  I snapped a few pictures but only got the back of his head.  I'm glad I went.  I was quite impressed with him.

Rome Hotel

Tuesday April 23
We arrived in Rome today after a layover in Amsterdam.  From the airport we took a train into the city.  After checking into the Selene Roma Hotel we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  Very good.  Going to The Vatican tomorrow morning.

Headed to Rome

Monday April 22
We are headed for Rome tomorrow for 5 days.  Our flight leaves at 0600 on Tuesday so we are staying the night at The Cork International Airport Hotel.  It is walking distance to the airport just across the parking lot.  The hotel doesn't look like much from the outside, but the interior is ultra modern.  Our flight departs Cork to Rome with a layover in Amsterdam.

 

Cork Airport terminal from hotel room

Cork International Airport Hotel

Farmer's Market and Race Day

Friday April 19
Weather in Cobh is beautiful today, warm, blue skies, and no wind. I took a walk up to St. Colman Cathedral, then walked along the path by the bay. They set up a Farmer's Market in town each Friday and Saturday with fresh fruits, eggs, and flowers.

View from St. Colman Cathedral

Titanic mural

Farmer's Market





Sunday April 21

Another nice day in Cobh. We see many container ships go by and in May there are about a dozen cruise ships scheduled to dock at the cruise terminal. There is a 10 mile race today and the finish line is across the street from our flat in front of the Titanic museum. I thought about doing the race but I don't want to injure myself in another country, so I'll just be a spectator today. At the last minute I found out there was a shorter walk/run race, so I decided to do it. It was cool to cross a finish line in Ireland. The race is not like races in the US. There are no fancy t-shirts or pricey entrance fees. You just donate what you want to the cause, which for this race was the Irish Cancer Society.

Cargo ship