Trastevere (204) Rome

... terrazzo. The Palazzos of the wealthy are astounding constructions, many of them now housing the museums noted above, some converted to public use like the American Embassy in Palazzo Margherita and the French Embassy in Palazzo Farnese. The Barberini Palace is a masterwork of the Renaissance by Bernini and Borromini who were pitted against each other to construct the most elaborate of the papal residences. 400 years later, the ...

... labyrinth through the entire museum it seemed we finally had come to it. No photos (although I snuck one, blurry... but I got one), no talking, just walk. Bottom line, I wasn't that impressed. The time we spent trying to see it I would have rather spent it doing something else. They herd you through there and you don't even have time to really look at the art of it. Plus, leading up to the chapel are numerous other chapels that look just as stunning, the only difference is ...

... the famous church. Michelangelo's Pietra was fantastic to view. Since the chapel was closed, we decided to climb the five hundred and fifty(ish) stairs up to the top of the Basilica. I do not know how we managed to make it to the top. It was an extreme test of our willpower and strength. The tiny, winding stairwells and slanted walls made for a rather tiring experience. However, the view from the top of the dome definitely was worth the hike up there. There was even a nice ...

... been like all that time ago with it full of people all cheering and jeering, it would have been so daunting. I don't know how you could spend time in Rome and not be drawn into its rich history. I know that Cilla know has a love for the culture and is very excited to get home and learn more about it than I have been able to teach her. Cilla and I sat on a hill to eat lunch, and that is one hotdog I will never forget; we had the most awesome sight of ancient runes in front of us. It ...

... WAS! There was a window painted on the far right top window...Check it out in the picture! We then saw a couple different fountains, the Spanish Steps where John Keats died at the age of 25, and a lot of history behind that part of Rome; then they bring you to a couple pubs and bars. We ended up going to a bar that was in a 14th century weaponry room in a castle! It was a good chance to meet other traveler's and local ...

Early today morning, we went down the street of Via Nationale to have breakfast. We ordered some pastries and cappuccino from the Nationale Café. It is not cheap, one cappuccino costs about 2.5 euros and 1 pastry costs about 2 euro. The coffee is very good, the pastries were ok except that they were rather hard and cold. After the brief breakfast, we took a train to Ottaviano again, this time to go into the capola and the Vatican Museum. To climb up the capola ...

... with an artist!! Then back to the bus for our visit to ancient Rome. The first thing we saw was the Circus Maximus, home to the famous chariot races. It is still considered as one of the largest entertainment sites ever built, and in its day, could accommodate 300,000 spectators for its card of up to 100 daily chariot races. I can't even imagine how wild the scene must have been. Our next stop was the Colosseum, and it is definitely colossal! Its hard to believe that ...

... Not too many people at our table enjoyed this selection. The wine presented is the most important production of Il Palagio. Chianti Classico was presented with hot brushetta bread with roasted garlic spread and extra virgin moraiole oil. This oil is from the first pressing of the fruit. The olives are hand picked in November and laid on a net. By picking in November the olives are not totally ripened which helps meet the requirements for the 51% acidity ...

... money shop in this incredibly expensive area. It reminded me of Jon, he would love this area. I visited a lot of beautiful churches, I can't remember them all. I soon realized that this was what Rome was all about. Piazza's are at almost every roundabout, giant churches filled with art pieces from artists like Bellini ( I wish I knew more about Art History), stone sculptures adorning corners and church entrances, gigantic obelisks and fountains to maintain the grandeur of ...

... maken, maar gaat natuurlijk niet lukken. Pas laat stappen we van boord, met toch iets te veel op. De boot ligt die nacht behoorlijk te rollen en we kunnen maar moeilijk slapen. Dit gaat de afgelopen vijf nachten al nauwelijks en om 4 uur is Esther het zat, we moesten maar eens gaan. Esther zal het eerste stuk motoren (er staat in de haven geen wind) zodat Janwillem nog even kan slapen. We varen de haven uit en Janwillem gaat even slapen. Even buiten de haven moet Janwillem ...