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July and August 2016

Rome

Scheduled Events:

  • Capitoline Museum

  • Pantheon

  • Piazza Navona

  • Vatican

  • Coliseum

  • Forum

Rick Steves Rome

As usual we made good use of our time in Rome. Not long after getting checked in, we were off to the Capitoline Museum to meet our local tour guide, Francesca (at right). We cannot say enough about her as a tour guide - Brilliant!! This museum was another excellent one. In it we learned about the history of Rome; it contained artifacts including a complete marble floor from a 2,000 year old Roman house, a 1,900 year old status or Marcus Aurelius, and still intact 2,500 year old base of the Temple of Jupiter. Of course I got to touch these things, and to think that they were built 75 generations ago is mind numbing. Michelle is of Italian descent so it’s not impossible that her ancestors were around to see, touch or who knows, even build them.

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We walked to the Pantheon, which is much bigger than we thought, 

especially when looking at it from the outside. In studying it a bit, we realized this is because it has very thick walls, which explains why it has survived earthquakes over the millennia.

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Today we learned how to interpret Roman ruins. Our guide explained how to differentiate between original construction and that which had been modified. We put this knowledge to good use the next day as we saw the Coliseum and Forum. It helped to give our imagination a jump start in understanding what this city may have looked like 2,000 years ago.

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We met at Piazza Navona after dinner, then walked to the Vatican, passing many iconic Roman images on the way.

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We started our second day at the Coliseum. What a surreal experience! 

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Our guide continued the journey through ancient Rome, and this education lasted through a walk to the Forum.

Michelle's Rome

"....When I was in Italy, every fiber of my being told me I was home."

 -Michelle

Doug'sRome

Ah! Rome on a Saturday morning! I woke up early and went exploring. I didn’t take Michelle’s camera along because I doubted Rome would have a lot of infrastructure activity on a weekend morning (I was right). I wandered aimlessly – starting at the fountain in Piazza Della Repubblica near our hotel, then down Nazionale for a while, then over to Via Venti Settembre, which has a lot of embassies on it – and it turns into Via del Quirinale, which is a very pretty road. At the end of it, I decided it was time to get back to the hotel. Little did I know I was a few blocks from Trevi Fountain one way and the Forum the other. I 

followed my old reliable nose back. It did a pretty good job, but I thought the street I was on (Via Panisperna) was parallel to our hotel’s street.

 

But after walking further than I thought I should have to, I realized those streets were a little askew. Although this was the second time I was uncertain how to find our hotel (I was also a little off in Munich) I reoriented myself and made it back in plenty of time. Along the way, I snapped a picture looking towards the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The hazy morning sun created a bronze-like effect that made it one of the best shots I took all vacation.

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