SUNDAY IN ROME--BLESSED BY THE POPE!

Good evening from lovely Rome..... 

Our last day in Rome was wonderful!  We had a leisurely start to our day, and Matt fixed us a great breakfast of scrambled eggs with some of that wonderful smoke cheese from dinner last night.

We took a taxi to the Vatican, our plan was to climb the dome early in the morning, and then go to St. Peters Square to see the Pope bless the crowd (and us!)

Our taxi driver dropped us off a few blocks from the Vatican, as the streets were blocked for some reason.  As we got closer to the Vatican, we noticed a large crowd in the streets.  We weren't quite sure what the occasion was, but it was a procession of some sort.  Eventually we found out it was a delegation from Guatemala and Peru on a pilgrimage to the Vatican.  It was quite a treat to watch them, especially the beautiful Peruvian people.

The procession:

Women in the procession were wearing lace mantillas, and were carrying incense burners--the fragrance was quite strong:

Another picture of the procession.  There was singing and a band marching along behind.  Strangely, the marching band was wearing Tyrolean looking hats with feathers--maybe German?

A beautiful Peruvian woman marching alongside the "float"

A sweet little boy marching with his mother, he was fidgeting with his robe sash, and his mom kept trying to settle him down.  He was adorable!

We enjoyed the procession for a while, then continued our walk to the Vatican.  We passed this wonderful water fountain.  I love the dragon motif:

We walked into St.Peter's Square, and the security line for the Basillica was l-o-n-g!  We would have to  go thru security to climb the Dome of St. Peter's, so we gave up on that idea!  Instead we went to have a cappuccino, and then explore the area around the Vatican until it was time for the Pope to appear.

Here's Matt in St. Peter's square, filling his water bottle in yet another fountain:

We explored the streets just outside the Vatican walls, stopping in a few gift shops to look for a certain religious medal for Jeanne's mom.  The guys decided this was a really cool car.  As you can see, Matt was thrilled to have his picture take next to it!

I liked this small stenciled street art on a nearby building: (hi Pat!)

We kind of let the time get away from us, and had to practically RUN to get to the square in time!  Along the way Dave and I got separated from Matt, but weren't too worried about it, as we had set up a meeting point just in case.

This is just part of the crowd in St. Peter's Square.  David and I were perched up on the base of one of the columns around the outside.  It was a precarious perch, but we weren't too worried about falling off--we couldn't have fallen to the ground if we'd tried, it was solid people!

I did manage to see the Pope, by leaning waaaay over while David held on to my belt!  Here he is--the Pope!

After the Pope was finished blessing the crowd, we hurried to meet Matt at a small cafe. We sat for a while sipping our cappuccinos, talking about how much we all enjoyed seeing the Pope.  It was a neat experience.  Matt was able to have a few rosaries blessed, as well as a St. Catharines medal for Jeanne's mom.  He also had with him a fridge magnet that he had just bought for his Grandma--so we are pretty sure that it was blessed by the Pope, too!  How about that, Grandma!

We decided to walk back towards our apartment, just taking our time to enjoy our last day in Rome.

We crossed the pretty Ponte Victorio Emmanuelle (bridge).  Here is one of the many statues on the bridge:

We found a nice little trattoria for lunch.  I think we might have been the only American's there, although I did hear some French.

Matt chose an interesting dish of rabbit with roasted cauliflower and herbs.  It was really good!

I had spaghetti with a simple sauce of olive oil, fresh parsley,  garlic and chili peppers.  It was spicy and delicious!

David ordered his usual pizza, here he is eating it like a true Italian--with fork and knife!  He said it was the best pizza he'd had in Rome:

We continued our lazy stroll through Rome, and came to the Column of Marcus Aurelius.  The carvings depict his victory over the Germans in about 160 A.D.  The statue on the top is of St. Paul.

The detail is amazing, and I wish I'd had time to study it all:

By now it was gelato time--it's against the rules to NOT have a gelato every day while in Rome!  Flavors of the day:  mango and Frutti di Bosco (fruits of the forest) for me, and banana and strawberry for Matt.  Pretty good stuff!

And here is David's choice.  I think he just broke the rule--cheater!

We just kept wandering--eventually walking up hill to the Galleria Barberini, the National Gallery of Ancient Art.  We decided we didn't have time to go inside, but the palace and grounds were very pretty.  This fence surrounded the grounds:

The palace:

An old fountain with spouting faces:

As we were leaving I spotted this old capitol-just sitting in the grass.  I love the bee motif:

Soon we found ourselves back in our neighborhood, and this lovely church was open so we went inside to look around.

The interior was as stunning as the outside, very baroque.  The ceilings were wonderful:

This is probably the most ornate pipe organ I've ever seen:

We went into the Sacristy, it was lined with these beautiful cabinets:

We were right around the corner from our apartment, so we decided to go back and tidy up the apartment and pack our bags for our early flight to Paris tomorrow.  Our ride to the airport is picking us up at 6:45, so we'd better be all ready to go tonight.  It really didn't take us too long, and we walked around a few blocks to choose a restaurant for our last meal in Rome.  We ended up right back where we started, the same one we'd chosen the first night.  We had the same waiter, and he remembered us.

Matt ordered spaghetti with veal meatballs.  He said it was just delicious.  I asked for a little taste--do you think I got one?

My ravioli with wild mushrooms.  I was surprised that it was in a cream sauce, my Italian must be rusty!  It was quite good, but very rich.

Guess who ordered pizza again?

We were having such a great time, relaxing and chatting about our experiences in Rome.  It was interesting to hear Matt's thoughts on Rome--his expectations versus his actual experience.  He said Paris will have to be pretty amazing to compare to Rome! 

We didn't really want the night to end, so we ordered desert!  (is that a good enough excuse?)

We shared a Panna Cotta in  Caramel Sauce.  It was silky smooth,  delicious but not too sweet.  The caramel sauce had an ever so slight burnt taste that was great.

A Baba Napolitan--really good, soaked in some kind of liquor, but not rum.  It was very sweet and rich.

Our delightful waiter brought us each a small glass of limoncello--as if we needed another bite or drop!  But of course we drank it.

It was a short walk back to our apartment, and one last climb up those tortuous stairs.  Thank goodness our apartment in Paris is only up one flight!

It's been a perfectly wonderful time in Rome, and a very special family time for us.  I have sure enjoyed Matt's company--he's a great traveling partner just like his dad!

Stay tuned for our adventures in Paris!

THE COLOSSEUM, SATURDAY 10/27

It was a busy Saturday in Rome for the Lund's. We had a tour of the underground and upper portion of the Colosseum scheduled for 9:30, so we started out early and had breakfast at a small cafe across the street from the Colosseum.  What a nice way to start our day-the view doesn't get much better than this!

With our tickets in hand, we were glad to skip the long line that was forming.  We made our way to the "tour waiting area",  here we are:

Our guide was a young Roman woman (she made sure that we understood she was ROMAN, not Italian!) who was very well versed in the history of the Colosseum.  Her English was superb, but she spoke fast with an Italian accent, so I didn't quite catch it all.  Not that I would retain much, anyway..........

When Dave and I visited the Colosseum last year, we were only able to see the main level.  With this tour, we could go the the "dungeon" level as well as the very top 3rd level.  

Here's a view looking down into the bottom level:

 This is looking straight out into the many "cells" in the lower level.   The main arena floor was originally above this level:

 Another view:

 Arched passage way around the perimeter of the bottom level:

Here we are on the 2nd level of the Colosseum:

 Our guide spent a great deal of time telling us about the history of the Colosseum and how it was used. After we finished the lover level, we briefly explored the middle level.  This view is about half way up the stairs to the 3rd level:

 From the 3rd level looking out over Palatine Hill, and the Arch of Constantine:

 Looking south west over Palatine Hill, you can just see some columns of the Forum in the lower right.

This is the Temple of Venus:

Look at these beautiful trees!  Forum columns in the lower left:

Taken looking out from the 3rd level.  Originally there were 2 more levels, but they have been lost over the years.  You can see the remnants of those other two levels here.

From the 3rd level looking down--what a view:

We spend about 2 hours at the Colosseum, and really enjoyed our tour.  Our plan for mid day was to visit Campo de Fiori ("Field of Flowers"), stroll around to enjoy the market, and then have lunch at one of the many cafes around the square.

This is just one of the many flower stalls--beautiful colors!

This stall had a fall display of pumpkins and gourds:

Delicious looking fresh veggies, everything looked so good:

There was even entertainment in the form of street musicians.  This guy was quite a character, and yes, that is a wine bottle at his feet, and he would sing a little, then drink a little.  I think he drank more than he sang!  He did play a mean accordion, though!

We looked at menus of a few of the cafes, choosing one with reasonable prices and an interesting menu. We were not disappointed!  We ordered three dishes to share--bruschetta, salad and a pizza.
The bruschetta was delicious, and the salad was a great mix of greens with salami "cups" filled with a cream cheese mixture.  The pizza was wonderful, as usual!  Of course, I added a glass of house red wine!

Our plan for the rest of the afternoon was to just wander, doing a little shopping and popping into interesting looking churches.  Just in the first block or so, Matt spotted a sign for the Leonard da Vinci Museum--which we had wanted to see but had not been able to find (not surprising, I know!).  Dave and I had visited one in Venice last year, and we were just blown away to learn of da Vinci's many inventions.

The museum in Rome is in a large palace that surely used to be the home of a wealthy Roman family--it was really pretty.  This is the inner courtyard:

Did you know that da Vinci had the idea for a music box?  Here's a model of his invention--Matt is turning the crank to make the music.

There were working models of several of his inventions, including flying machines, ball bearings, hygrometer, hydraulic saw, eccentric cam, worm screw, rolling mill, oil press----the list goes on and on!

 This was my favorite--the odometer.   Read the description on the left--brilliant!

We spent almost an hour exploring, and came away in absolute awe of this brilliant man--what a genius!

We continued our stroll, heading in the general direction of our apartment.  We happened upon another of those wonderful water fountains.  I especially liked this one--notice the tassels:

David had read about the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Church, we were nearby so decided to check it out.  It was very plain on the outside:

 But OH, MY the interior is stunning!  It was built in 1280, and is Rome's only Florentine Gothic church.  This view is near the entrance, looking towards the altar.  The ceiling colors were still just brilliant:

There were many stained glass Rose Windows--this one was especially beautiful:

A closer view of the altar:

One of the many side chapels:

Ceiling in one of the small chapels:

This is Michelangelo's statue "Risen Christ".  It is most unusual as it depicts Christ nude-but with a strategically placed gilt-bronze loin cloth.

Another of the small chapels, beautiful sculptures on a black background:

Large stained glass window near the Sacristy:

In the piazza in front of the church stands this very interesting statue and obelisk.  It was designed by Bernini and carved by his students:

 We continued along, turning down interesting streets.  Another street musician, a delightful smiling gentleman.  He was quite accomplished on the accordion, too!

 We didn't go into this church, but I really like the elegant facade:

This beautiful ornate church is right around the corner from our apartment.  I'm hoping we'll have time tomorrow to have a look inside:

We made a quick stop at the Despar supermarket--the one that we had such trouble finding our first night.  I probably shouldn't admit that it's only a couple of blocks from our apartment--and we still couldn't find it!  We picked up a few items for our supper tonight.

A quick 1/2 block and around the corner, and we're home.  Well, almost home--we still have those 4 flights of s-t-e-e-p stairs to climb.  What was I thinking when I chose an apartment on the 4th floor?? (actually it's on the 5th floor by our standards--in Europe they don't count the ground floor) Never again!

Our dinner tonight was simple, but yummy.  We'd been looking at the prosciutto, so decided tonight was a great time to give it a try.  Good stuff!  We also bought some Provolone cheese--just OK, very salty and a much different texture that we usually get.  The yellowish cheese next to the wedge of Provolone was a new one for us, Caciocavallo Affumic-a deeeelicious smoked cheese.  We sliced up a crisp green apple, added some great crusty bread,and finished our left-over romanesco from last night,  It's even good cold!  Oh--and a glass of really good red wine.  Mmmmmmm, a good dinner again!

 Another busy, fun day exploring Rome's treasures.

Tomorrow is our last day in Rome.  We fly to Paris early Monday morning.   Our plan is to go to St. Peters's Square, and hopefully get a glimpse  of the Pope blessing the crowd.  We can all use a little blessing!

Good night from beautiful, fascinating Rome!