No "kid"ding around...

May 25, 2009

This was the most frustrating day our trip by far. Knowing we couldn't leave Rome without seeing the Sistine Chapel we waited the hour required to enter the Vatican museums. And we saw the Sistine Chapel. And that was about it. So packed in with tourists, with barely enough room to move our elbows, the museums were so crowded that we found our tour difficult to enjoy and after a short time we decided our best bet was to make our way to the Sistine Chapel and resolve to come back in the off season to see the rest of the museum. After our Vatican jaunt and a delicious neopolitan pizza lunch, we picked up our car and headed for Florence. Three hours of beautiful Italian countryside, followed by a quick, late dinner and off to bed, exhausted from our travels.

Because it was so crowded, it was difficult to get any high quality pics,
but I couldn't leave without a pic of the goat, I heart him

Our Roman Holiday Continues

May 24, 2009

Sightseeing galore. St. Peter's, both the tomb of the Popes and the Basilica, the Colosseum by day, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and a walking tour that took us along the beautifully tree lined river and through some Roman neighborhoods that made me wonder what it would be like to just pick up and move. We ended our day with some of the best food of our trip (not THE best, hold for Firenza on that but certainly close). Eating on an open rooftop patio, we enjoyed carpaccio, authentic carbonara, perfect, flaky sea bass and delicious Italian wine with each course.

The length of St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's assembled for a Papal Mass

This inset was called "Conversion of the Pagans" - last I checked the best way to get someone to do what you want is to stand on them, literally or figuratively. okay, off my soapbox, this one just one of those things that irks me.

Ben was getting photo happy and snapping lots of me. Ignore the crazy hair, but notice the cardigan, worn especially for the modesty police.

The Spanish Steps - clearly quite full of tourists, but we made our way to the top anyway

The exterior of the Pantheon

The dome of the Pantheon

The interior of the Colosseum

An Italian Whirlwind

Yes, I realize it has been, I hate to say it, nearly three months since I last posted. And I'm still catching flack about not having said anything about our Italy trip. So starting here is a whirlwind tour of our Italian vacation.

May 23rd, 2009

We arrived in Rome on Saturday after a few hours spent waiting in the airport. We caught a terrifying* cab ride into the Centro Storico to our hotel (*Italian cabbies are like Greek ones, they believe death and/or maiming do not apply to them while behind the wheel). Checked into our lovely, air conditioned hotel without incident then set out on foot in search of dinner. We stumbled into a place just up the street that had a touristy vibe but the food possibilities seemed worth the risk. Three delicious courses later we found ourselves back on the street meandering our way through the tourists at the Trevi Fountain. After the fountain we wound our way through the quieter streets toward the Colosseum, which all lit up at night, is a sight to behold. After we'd looked our fill, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

The Trevi Fountain at twilight (thanks to Ben you can't see the throngs of tourists scattered in front of the fountain, pays to be tall)

The Colosseum at night