ROME
[OK, it’s time to wrap up the cruise blogging before the snow flies! We’re back on the ground in Rome, here at the Monument of Madonna on Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Square).]
[A pizzeria in Rome? Really? Who’da thunk?]
[Sara addresses the troops re the wonders of Spanish Square.]
[And now walking to Spanish Square . . . uno, dos, tres . . .]
[These are the Spanish Steps. To be honest (and why wouldn’t I be), I had never heard of them before. I had heard of Rome before, however. There are 135 steps between the top and the bottom, and they were built in the 18th century so Spaniards could go up and down. It is the widest staircase in Europe, which is fortunate, because a lot of people are using them! 😉 ]
[This is the Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat), which was built in the 17th century. It’s fortunate it is at the base of the Steps, so it can catch Spaniards when they trip and fall.]
[The Steps are overwhelmed. As an older person, I did not attempt a climb. Besides, I had to leave my pitons at home – couldn’t make it past the TSA scanners.]
[Hey, another photo op site.]
[I’m guessing she’s from somewhere in the Midwest. No reason for thinking that. She just looks wholesome (but isn’t that a reason?).]
[If you “blow up” the building banner, you will see it’s the Keats Shelley Museum.]
[The Old Boat Fountain]
[The supervisor enjoys the Old Boat – another 90-degree plus day.]
[If you “blow up” this banner, you will see it’s an ad for Prada eyewear.]
[Where the Old Boat is in relation to the Monument of Madonna.]
[If you “blow up” the sign on the side of the building, you’ll see it’s Babington’s Tea Room.]
[We’re on the move again, leaving the Steps behind.]
[And whom amongst us doesn’t like Italian food (and beverage)?]
[Sara demonstrates how to use a water fountain.]
[Bill takes notice.]
[We rounded a corner and there it was – Trevi Fountain! 🙂 ]
[Photo ops once again abound.]
[Moving around . . .]
[Moving further around . . .]
[We made it to the front. The crowds were quite dense.]
[People filed up and down the steps for the coin toss.]
[A nice little outdoor alley restaurant – they are everywhere!]
[Mmmmmmmmmm, pizza!]
[After our alley repast, the supervisor prepares for the coin toss . . .]
[And there it goes, as tradition requires, backward over the right shoulder. ;-0 ]
[Here we’re going down a commercial street enroute to . . .]
[Darned if I can remember what this is? It was impressive – and on the walk between the Spanish Steps and in the Pantheon.]
[ ? ]
[We stayed for a while, took photos, and listened to Sara . . .]
[“Sara, Sara” . . . well, I like the song by Starship. 😉 ]
[ Well, we’re leaving it now and I still don’t know. (A certain A. Grundei subsequently advised that this is the Temple of Hadrian. Ole Hadrian really got around – remember his stuff in Turkey? Thanks, A.)]
[Pinocchio’s shop . . .]
[I recall Anne did some granddaughter shopping here.]
[Love these narrow walking streets . . .]
[Particularly when they’re lined with restaurants! 🙂 ]
[The Pantheon, from 125 AD until the 20th century, it was the largest concrete structure in the world. It is still an active church.]
[The Pantheon obelisk in Piazza dello Rotonda. This is where we would meet after scurrying around for eats.]
[Entering the Pantheon.]
[Inside, the supervisor takes notes for our next kitchen floor.]
[The hole in the ceiling was offset by (see the 6th and 7th pictures following) . . . ]
[Scanning the Pantheon’s interior . . .]
[Just aim your cameras everywhere.]
[And at each other if you’d like.]
[That’s qute a dome.]
[The supervisor takes a load off. 😉 And there’s the church part.]
[The tile floors had holes to drain the water coming through the hole in the roof . . .]
[See above.]
[Sara explains the origin of the pizza name . . .]
[And there she is . . . Margherita – for whom the first pizza was named!]
[A big building on the piazza.]
[Now we’re heading into the Piazza Navona.]
[It’s a biggie and has been a public square since the 15th century.]
[The Fountain of the Four Rivers]
[They say when in a foreign country, such as Iowa or Wisconsin, don’t dress or act like an American or you will be the target of pickpockets . . .]
[I suspect this fellow in orange will soon be picked clean.]
[The Fountain]
[An obelisk at the far end of the piazza.]
[Long shot of the piazza.]
[Our first sighting of the Tiber River.]
[Stuff along the way . . .]
[More stuff.]
[St. Peter’s Basilica, we’re on our way to the Vatican.]
[Our second sighting of the Tiber River.]
[Our third sighting of the Tiber River.]
[Entering Vatican City, St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican obelisk.]
[The Basilica.]
[Sara says, “Wander around, meet me at the café in an hour.”]
[The obelisk (as if you didn’t know).]
[And the photo ops in front of the Basilica begin . . .]
[The Square – I thought it could use some greenery?]
[Just indulging my hobby of photographing the photographers. 😉 ]
[Say, pizza pie!]
[I was hoping the pope would come out?]
[That’s amore!]
[Exit (OK, entry too) from Vatican City.]
[We were here at the beginning . . .]
[Civitavecchia! 🙂 ]
[Back on board, the supervisor once again displays a yen (though in Europe, it’s a euro) for pastries.]
Arrivederci, Roma!!
Up next: Who knows? We still have Pisa and Florence, and Cannes, and departure from Barcelona to go. On Saturday, the supervisor “suggested” I leave the house at 7:00 am and not return until 10:30 pm. Life as a retiree is exhausting! There was the ‘Y’, followed by the all-day 2013 Runestone Classic Volleyball Invitational (8 teams, I’d sometimes venture to Dunn Bros. Coffee between the Cardinal games), afternoon with The Salty Dogs at the winery (while there the Ledermann brothers were dropping off 6,000 pounds of grapes, all picked that day in the rain and wind by up to 50 pickers), then the supervisor joined in for dinner and Harper’s Chord at SAWA. I’m so far behind, I took no more v’ball pictures – the Cards beat Wadena-Deer Creek and Brainerd, then lost the Mounds View (a game I missed). The v’ball moms said we just imploded in that game – there may have been extenuating circumstances as they lost Liz Schultz to a dislocated finger (they took her to the hospital), and if that was early in the match the team could have been distracted by their concerns for Liz?
alexandriacardinals 