Roma

The trip to Rome was the longest of our journey. We tried to see all the major sites at least once and managed to see many of them twice.

Most of us have seen pictures of the outside of the Coloseum so I was pretty excited when I found out that we would actually get to go inside of it, and it was nothing like I expected. As you can see from this picture, it is almost completely in ruins. This view looks down into the center where the gladiators provided entertainment. The "floor" is literally gone and only a few of the tunnels remain clear of debris to show how the corridors looked in ancient times. Most of the outer walls and seating areas are in ruin but it is still a pretty amazing site to visit.

Of course we made the other tourist attractions like the Trevi Fountain ( I went during the day and at night and was kind of disappointed because it is in a very small piazza and VERY crowded, the Spanish Steps, the parliment buildings along with St. Peter's Cathedral and the Cappella Sistina (the Sistine Chapel). which took hours. St. Peter's is unbelievably huge with several small chapels in various alcoves. While it was all very beautiful, I found myself wondering how many of the people of Italy, or any country, could have better benefitted from a small amount of the money that went into this palacial church. I have to say though that most of the churches we visited in other towns were also pretty ornate, they just weren't quite as large. After the enormity of David, the Pieta seemed almost insignificant because it was so much smaller than I expected and not as easy to view being set off to the side of the church and constantly surrounded by visitors. However, I have to say that I am very happy I got to see all of these sights that I have heard of throughout my life.

We also visited the Piazza Navona for a special ice cream. This is the same plaza that was in the opening program of Relativity, for any of you nighttimeTV buffs.

Our hotel was located within Vatican City and just a block from the church in one of the buildings on the left. It was a very quaint little hotel and one of the few places we stayed that had air conditioning. My favorite time in Rome was in the early morning when I could wander around the streets close to the Vatican. There was no one else about except a few hurrying nuns and an occasional Italian out for coffee.

One more little stop -- Assisi or go back to my Homepage .