Glen: I have frequently traveled on business to cities such as Washington DC and San Francisco, and I just don't like big cities. Consequently, Rome was the last place that I really cared to visit in Italy. I told Karin that on the first day of our trip, and she assured me that Rome would be different, although I couldn't believe it then. But happily, it was. Yes, its a sizable city, but it truly didn't seem to have that big city "atmosphere." I'm really glad we spent the time in Rome, after all.

Since Rome was the last stop on our tour, this was where we parted ways with our driver, Juan. As soon as we unloaded at the hotel and said goodbyes, Juan and the Heidebloem bus departed, leaving us to get about on our own. That turned out to be fairly simple. Mostly, we walked and used the subway to get around Rome. That first subway ride was like a surreal time machine, transporting us from the 21st century and disgorging us at the ancient Roman Colosseum!

There were Centurions roaming outside, standing guard and taunting or posing with tourists but there weren't any gladiators fighting wild beasts or one another in the arena...

After two weeks of nearly non-stop sensory overload, it was a bit difficult to comprehend exactly what we were seeing as we explored these ancient ruins. We were seeing and photographing iconic images that we'd first seen in schoolbooks during grade school, and it somehow didn't quite seem real. The scale, complexity, and obvious artistry of the buildings and monuments would challenge today's technology, yet these were the tattered remnants from two millenia ago!

Sure, this is another iconic image of Rome, in this case, Palatine Hill. But what is it about those trees that just screams "ITALY!"? We'd love to have a view like this, or even just a few of the trees, at home...

Despite the overload, our local guide did a pretty good job of explaining all the history. And, since Karin had already made good use of our bus time and primed us with a condensed version of this information, it all made sense. As always, Karin gave us an excellent orientation to where everything was and how to use the subway, buses and taxis as needed to get around and return to our hotel on our own. We felt very comfortable exploring Rome. And, we always had her cell phone number should we ever run into any problems. We walked miles and miles during our free time, not wanting to miss a thing. And we had gelato to keep us going!

Lisa: While Glen had not originally wanted to visit Rome, I very much wanted to come, especially to see the Pantheon. An Italian restaurant where we live has a photograph in its entry area of the Pantheon's dome. I had dreamed of standing here in the Pantheon and taking this very picture, looking up into the dome and seeing the shaft of light.

Sorry. At some point you succumb to goofy tourist pictures.

On our second day in Rome, we had another local guide take us through the Vatican museum. This guide, appropriately enough, was also an art history major and a font of information. At right is one representative stretch of ceiling of the Vatican museum. The paintings, statues, mosaics in the floor, artwork on ceilings, etc., went on seemingly forever. We were nearly exhausted by the time we eventually reached the highlights of the tour, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica.

Despite it being the last full day of a 17 day tour, you can see at left that Karin, our Rick Steve’s guide, was still smiling and being ever-helpful. Our local guides used radio microphones and we wore headsets like Karin has so we could hear easily and not disrupt those around us. This worked particularly well at the Vatican.

Glen perked up when we came upon one of his favorite pieces of art: Raphael's School of Athens, which depicts  the great Greek philosophers and scientists. While Michelangelo was next door painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Raphael was painting this. Raphael represented his major figures with idealized portraits of his contemporaries. For example, the central orange-robed Plato is based on Leonardo da Vinci. (Even Raphael himself makes a cameo appearance, cropped from the view at left, as the only face looking looking straight out of the picture at the viewer.) Heraclitus, the purple-robed figure leaning on the marble block in front, out of kilter with the rest of the world, is especially interesting. His is the only figure added as an afterthought to the fresco, on fresh plaster atop the original. Supposedly, Raphael sneaked into the Sistine Chapel to see what Michelangelo was creating. Raphael was so impressed that, as a tribute, he added the Heraclitus figure in Michelangelo's image, and even styled it to look like it was painted by Michelangelo.

And speaking of Michelangelo, a visit to Rome wouldn't be complete without seeing the Sistine Chapel.  We never thought about the crowds that would be packed into the Chapel, and couldn't believe the guards continually shouting, "No pictures!" and periodically shouting, "Quiet" when the general crowd noise reached too high a volume. Still, the experience was well worth these quirks. Knowing that the frescos had been restored recently, Glen mistakenly assumed that the "no pictures" edict meant "no flash" in an effort to help preserve the brilliance of the paintings. Immediately after he snapped this flash-less shot of the famous Creation of Adam panel, a guard clamped down on his shoulder, barked "No pictures!" and insisted that Glen turn off the camera and stow it away. You can learn more about the Chapel here, and see details about Michelangelo's ceiling here.

After the museum and Sistine Chapel, we entertained the notion of just skipping St Peter's Basilica in favor of finding a gelato fix. However, we did stay and find Michelangelo's Pietà and Bernini's massive canopy over the altar before heading outside to St Peter's Square, shown at left with Mary and Ed. It says something about how tired we were that day when you realize that we didn't climb the dome (the only climbing opportunity we both passed on)!

Leaving St Peters, one of the fun places that we went on Rick Steves’ recommendation was the Church of St Ignazio.  Rick describes it as "a riot of Baroque illusions with a false dome". Indeed, there is a flat portion of the nave's ceiling that is painted, trompe le'oil, to look like a dome viewed in perspective (see left). Better though, is the painted scene in the apse (see right) where a red robe from the painting extends over the ledge and a real bit of cloth hangs down. Likewise, a young man to the left dangles one leg over the edge and, from the knee down, it's a three-dimensional leg hanging out in space. By this time, we had seen one too many churches and this just gave us a bit of much-needed comic relief.

Rome is a paradise for fountain lovers. One of the urban legends about Rome is that tossing a coin over your shoulder into the elaborate Trevi fountain (see left) will ensure that you return to Rome. Lisa pitched all the coinage she had in her pockets, including a two-euro coin, so between that and the Florentine pig incident, we apparently will be back in Italy one day... It is amazing how solid stone can be carved in such a way that creatures look alive, clothing seems soft and flowing, even fish nets appear real-istic. Secular or religious, whim-sical or serious, there are foun-tains for you in Rome!

After another gelato pick-me-up, we made final rounds to see the rest of the must-see tourist sights, like the Spanish Steps (left), and still found a bit of time and energy to revisit a few locations where we wanted to spend a bit more time.

We found the "blue brick" to be an indispensable aid in locating and getting to some of these sites.

Along the way, we found a lot of good Italian food including, of course, more gelato!

           

We got back together with our group for one last meal together that evening. We talked, laughed, sang, shared special and favorite memories about the trip, and said our goodbyes.

To summarize, the entire 17-day experience was simply enlightening!

Click below to watch Caeser's Rome (5:26)		Click below to watch Renaissance Rome Part 1 (5:35)

Click below to watch Renaissance Rome Part 2 (6:36)		Click below to watch Rome: Last Evening (2:41)