Rome (Roma)

We took the first real train of the trip from Naples to Rome. It traveled 300 km/hr (180 mph). It was a smooth ride, but for some reason my ears kept popping, especially in tunnels. The Italian countryside is covered in orchards, hay and wheat fields and market vegetables beyond description.

Rome is clean, full of tourists and easy to get around in by bus. Jasmine is in bloom and fragrant. The roads are again cobblestone making bus rides extremely rough. The transit system must have a few individuals dedicated just to tightening loosened bolts. We are staying in Trastevere, the party district of Rome. The streets are busier at 2 in the morning than 2 in the afternoon. Thank goodness for ear plugs.

We've seen so much. I'll try a partial list: Vatican City, Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Roman Coliseum, St. Ignatius of Loyola Cathedral, Vittorio Emanuele Monument, Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven, and the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi,   Everywhere you turn are beautiful public sculptures and history beyond our attention spans' comprehensions. At this point in the trip, mention of a museum, palace, temple, cathedral, or mosque brings a moan. I don't blame them.

After all we have seen, St. Peter's Basilica and Michelangelo's frescos in the Sistine Chapel (sorry no photos allowed) were truly amazing. Rome is a special place.

The street our apartment is on in Trastevere

Vatican City Museum entrance

At the Vatican City Museum

An original pope mobile

The Pieta - a Michelangelo (age 20) sculpture depicting Jesus in the lap of his mother Mary

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica - this is a mosaic! If you can, zoom in to check out the detail

St. Peter's Basilica

The Pantheon 

The Pantheon 

 

The Pantheon 

 

St. Ignatius of Loyola Cathedral

St. Ignatius of Loyola Cathedral

Vittorio Emanuele Monument - celebrating the unification of Italy

Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven

Water from the aqueduct

The ruins of the Roman Forum

The ruins of the Roman Forum

The Roman Coliseum

Walter at the Roman Coliseum

Zoe at the Roman Coliseum

The Roman Coliseum - there was false floor for releasing gladiators and beasts

The Roman Coliseum

Zoe at the Roman Coliseum

Ann-Kristin after a long day

Fontana del  Acqua Paola at the end of the Acqua Paola aqueduct

View of  Rome from the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi

View of  Rome from the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi

Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi - one of  the founding fathers of Italy

View of  the Vatican from the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi

A feast of prosciuttos (7 kinds) and cheese

 

Naples (Napoli)

The 21st flight of our trip landed us in Naples, Italy. Rain when we landed seemed ominous, but it cleared shortly after our arrival. We walked about 18 miles in all, almost exclusively on narrow cobblestone streets dodging scooters, kids playing kick ball, and stout, little, old ladies dressed in black towing 2-wheeled grocery carts.  There seemed to be a big, beautiful cathedral on every block, sometimes two.  Being the home of pizza, we ate lots of pizza in Naples. Yum!

We visited Pompeii via tram. The whole city (11,000 to 20,000 people depending on the source) was buried in ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. The city was untouched for 1,500 years thereafter. The site continues to be excavated and provides great insight into life in Italy 2,000 years ago.

Street scene a block north of our B&B

Fish market less than a block from our B&B

"Hand" railing at our B&B (it was like this to the roof)

A view from the bathroom (note the statue)

The same statue from outside. The B&B was on the 5th floor.

Street scene two blocks south of our B&B

Pompeii artifacts and a plaster cast of a leashed dog

Pompeii artifacts and a plaster cast of a person

Typical street in Pompeii

A bakery in Pompeii - note thee oven and wheels for grinding flour

Pompeii amphitheater

Beware of dog mosaic in entryway in Pompeii

Ann-Kristin in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background

 

Athens last day

Our last day in Athens, we visited the Central Market and the National Archeological Museum. The Central Market sold both wholesale and retail. There were 3 blocks occupied just by butchers. I couldn't get anyone to check that out. There was a place selling boxes of sunglasses. I'm pretty sure you could get a box of Ray Ban knockoffs for the price of a pair in the Plaka.

The archeological museum was interesting, lots of stone and bronze. I especially liked the bronze work. We saw the Antikythera mechanism, the earliest known computer thought to be an astronomical device. We also learned a great deal from the Egyptian exhibit. While in Egypt, we relied on guides, books and the internet; the exhibits were not well documented. I've come to the conclusion that all you really need to do is visit the British Museum to see the world's greatest antiquities. Everywhere we go, replicas are displayed with a note that the original is in the British Museum. We'll see in July.

In the evening, Jack and I caught subways to go see Avengers Age of Ultron, something Jack  has been pining to do for the past month and 4 countries. No movies in Athens until after 6 pm. The theater had a full bar and a 15 minute intermission.

The food in Athens was great. Tied for second with Thailand. Istanbul was first.

In Athens we are finally in the Eurozone. No more changing money or dealing with passports for a while.

From what we saw of Greece, the ground is rocky with only a thin veneer of soil. One of our taxi drivers raised grapes, but said he wanted to plant Kalamata olives. Olives require less than one month of work each year and olive oil pays a premium.

An olive stand at the Central Market

A statue of Zeus throwing a lightning bolt (or Poseidon throwing a trident, they're not sure) at the National Archeological Museum

Remnants of the Antikythera mechanism at the National Archeological Museum