Island Hopping 2024: Roma, A City Walk, Vatican City

We grabbed a cab to downtown.  The airport stands considerably away from the city center and it took about 50 minutes to get to the Coliseum, some of which was driving through farmlands.  

Our plan was not to go into the coliseum but rather to view it and some of the city’s other sites from the outside.  We walked from the Coliseum to Vatican City viewing along the way the Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, ancient aqueducts and many other of Rome’s ancient architectural works.

Coliseum

The Coliseum is big

Caesar

Caesar's Forum

The Glory that was Rome's

Pizzas as far as the eye can see!  I have found my people!

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain, our favorite

Castel Sant'Angelo

Bringing water to the Romans for over 2,000 years

We had booked a tour with a local guide to go through the Vatican.  It was good to have her as she added texture and knowledge to what we were looking at.  Of course the disadvantage of having a guide, we are on the guide’s schedule and not our own.  The main elements of the tour were the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s basilica and Piazza San Pietro.  It was good to see these things in person, but like the Louvre you  can see the art more clearly online and in books.  The idea of being right there where Michelangelo actually did his work was moving, but the oppressive crowds did detract.  This was not to say that the tour and the site was not very worth while, it is just to say that we were not the only ones interested in Vatican City.

St. Peter's Basilica

Inside one of the Vatican's courtyards

Another cast of Caesar.  The fence in front is about chest high.  This head was on top of a full body stature at one time.  It must have been gigantic

No pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel.  This is the ceiling of one of the rooms leading into the chapel

Again a fresco in a room leading into the chapel

A tapestry of Christ in one of those rooms outside the chapel

There was one whole Hall dedicated to maps.  This is an ancient map of Sicily

Piazza San Pietro (Saint Peter's Square)

Inside Saint Peter's Basilica

The changing of the Swiss Guards

Sandy and I quickly made up for any shortcomings that we may have found in our enjoyment of Vatican City by walking to the Prati district and brilliantly finding a Gelateria.  Our genius did not stop with the gelato, when we returned to the hotel we had another aperitivo at the bar.  A Negroni, in Italy, at sundown, perfect!

Wild Cherry and Lemon Gelato

Our Negroni aperitivo back at hotel