Arrivederci Roma

Saturday was our last full day in Rome and we discover in person, that this city is every bit as wondrous as books and film portray it.

Our first stop today though, isn't in Rome or for that matter even In Italy. We visit the city state that is The Vatican. It is a place of beauty, history and mystery.

This shot is a small part of the ceiling in one hall of the Vatican museum. We swore this was carved, but it's actually painted.

The amazing work of Michelangelo. I had to sneak this shot in the Sistine Chapel without really looking at the camera. 

Michelangelo's "Pieta" is for me, an incredibly moving piece of art.

The tomb of the newly canonized Saint John Paul II

This shot is of the crowds queuing to get into the Vatican. We're told this line is about three hours long. Thankfully, we had a local guide and had been pre-booked and were able to jump the queue.

 

 

 

We then return to Rome and tour the famous Coliseum.

Once again, the engineering skills displayed by the Romans is remarkable.

And of course we had to include the obligatory picture in front of the Trevi fountain.

Our time in Italy is now done and I'm actually at home as I complete the final blog entry for the trip. It's a beautiful country and well worth exploring.

"Arrivederci Roma!"

White Doves on a Battle Ground

We leave Naples in the rear wiew mirror today, heading north to Rome where we will spend the last two nights of our trip. Along the way though we stop at Monte Cassino, the site of a famous World War Two  battleground.  The Abbey at Monte Cassino was held by the Germans and on the ride to the now reconstructed church, it was easy to see the significance of the location. From this high vantage point, any troup movements for miles around could easily be seen. 

The abbey was bombed to near total destruction while allied troups scaled the high, steep slopes to overtake the enemy position.  You can imagine the struggles of the allied troups scaling this slope.

The newly reconstructed abbey was consecrated in 1964. 

The courtyard...

Symbols of peace where once a battle raged.

The memorial burial ground for the Polish troups lost here. Unfortunately we were unable to get to the Canadian, British or U.S. Memorial, sites. 

A Friday evening tour of Rome shows just a little of what this city has to offer. 

This may be the birthplace of the re-use movement. This ancient building is now the Italian stock exchange.

The Pantheon !

A remarkable feat of engineering undertaken some 2040 years ago.

Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon.

Piazza Navona carvings

Neptune's fountain at the Piazza Navona.l

More from Rome tomorrow. Can't believe our trip is near done...

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When Life Gives You Lemons....

A short tour of Naples this morning, reveals that this is a tale of two cities. Our first exposure to the city near our hotel, was to a trash and graffiti covered neighbourhood. This morning took us to a much more picturesque side of the city, with gardens, history and for some, wealth. 

After this brief encounter with a gentler Naples, we head for the ancient ruins of the city of Pompeii. 

This Roman settlement and it's people were buried under volcanic ash with the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 75 AD. The ruins were discovered in the mid 18'th century and excavation since then is estimated to have exposed 75% of the city. 

Pompeii's graveyard prior to it being completely buried in ash.

It's amphitheatre.

Part of its' town square.

Apparently the city had at least one brothel as shown by these frescos of its' offerings.

During the excavation, archeologists realized that some hollows in the ash, we're actually the outlines (effectively molds), of the citizens who died in the calamity. They began injecting plaster into those hollows and the results produced clear evidence of their horrific deaths.

A view of the town square with Vesuvius in the background.

Next on today's agenda was a little site seeing, shopping and dinner in Sorrento. 

Sorrento is famous for a tasty liqueur made from the giant lemons seen here. Note that the oranges in this photo are of a large variety, yet the lemones make them look to be the size on tangerines. 

A crowded lane way takes us to our tasty treat.

When life gives you lemons...  Make Limoncello!

The wonderful lemon flavoured liqueur that this area of Italy is famous for.

Tomorrow...  Rome.

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