Roma - Incredible Day One

Day 12 of the tour - Just.Keep.Moving.
Everyone was excited to reach Rome in the early afternoon. All the history! The glory!
The walking! The standing. And walking...
First stop: the Vatican Museum
Rome's tourist destinations are not crowded at all, as shown by our fellow history fans examining the tapestries.
Unbelievable splendor. This is just one corridor in the sprawling museum.
Unbelievably cool relief from a window AC unit halfway (?) through the museum.
Did I mention Rome is hot?
After spending some time in the Sistine Chapel (continuing our Renaissance education started on Venice), we had to get back across the whole Vatican Museum to meet our group.  It didn't help that I left my hat in the bathroom and had to hustle back through several rooms and a stairway to retrieve it. 
Above: Still trying to find the uscita (exit). Lots of Uscita signs with arrows, followed by more twists and turns, more Uscita signs, more stuff to buy, more corridors...
At last! Made it to the group rendezvous on time. Here we're getting oriented to Rome's Metro system, ready to tick some key sites off our lists.
Mary displays the Spanish Steps
At the Trevi fountain. By this time we are learning to stay in the shade and drink water whenever possible.
And this is how we don't sweat to death. Fill up those water bottles!
Walking by a random church (sooo many churches) I could see mass in progress. I prayed our dinner destination was nearby so I could sit down.
First course: bruschetta
The tomatoes in Italy are so fresh and flavorful! We shared pizza and salad, storing energy for post-dinner walking to take in a few last sights at dusk, and past St. Peter's Square on the way home.
Fascinating building art - Piazza Farnese - the French embassy in Rome 
Obelisks abound in Rome - several stolen from Egypt. All's fair in love and war?
Castel Sant'angelo ... connected to the Vatican.
Approaching St. Peter's Basilica. From this perspective, you'd think it was the U.S. Capitol building.
Yep, you're really here, Mary.
What a day!  Siri said we walked more than 9 miles. 
We were in Rome and it was amazing. 

Andiamo!

- Christine

Comments

  1. LauraJune 20, 2022 at 12:53 PM

    That is a lot of walking. And incredible sights! The multitudes must have been trying at times, but you made it!

    ReplyDelete

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