We visited the ruins of Ancient Rome today. The Coliseum, or Flavian Amphitheater, as it is really named, the Palatine Hill, the homes of the elite, and the Forum, the marketplace.
https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Ruins-of-Ancient-Rome
The forum in the foreground, the 3 large columns are the remnants of the temple of the vestal virgins. The large white building in the background is the Victorio Emmanual monument, to the first king of Italy, who united all the city states into 1 kingdom
Vatican Museum and St Peter’s basilica on a very hot day!
https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/St-Peters-Basilica
We got to skip the Line at the Museum but the connecting passage to St Peter’s has been shut down by covid except for special group access, so we had to hike back around the Museum to stand an hour long queue in the 90+° heat. The thunderhead over the colonnade did manifest into a thunderstorm a couple hours later, after we got back to our apartment, thankfully!
Rome! We arrived this afternoon via train and found our lodging not quite ready, so we visited 2 close sights, the Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps. A little good news, because the dollar and euro are actually equal today, and we paid for this lodging today in worries, we saved $150! Check out our photos at this site https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Rome
We took the train from Florence and arrived below the town of Assisi about 3PM. The taxi dropped us off at our lodging, a little house near the very top of the town, near the ancient Porta Perlici, Roman gate. and we made our way down to the Basilica of San Francesco they the streets. Enjoy the walk with us at https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Assisi
We enjoyed a very full day bus trip, 12 hours almost, visiting sights in Tuscany. We were just 1 day after the last summer Paleo, race around the Campo, so we saw the evidence, the compacted soil on the brick and some of the barriers still in place. We toured the marble covered cathedral there! Since the stop in Siena was punctuated by a vigorous thunderstorm, we were a bit late leaving the city, but the weather eased so it was pleasant for our wine tasting / pairing lunch at a San Gimignano winery and then visit to the old fortified city. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to an overlook where you could see the towers and the city skyline, you will have to look that up! Our view was from the narrow streets! Our last stop was for Pisa, and I realized the miracle mile, the walled cathedral complex with the Baptistry and leading tower, is all I’ve ever seen of Pisa in 3 or 4 trips there! But an iconic image you can’t miss in Tuscany, so we went so Kathy could experience it as well! We just couldn’t climb it, like we did with Malik! No time! Enjoy https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Siena-city-and-cathedral
We visited the authentic statue of David by Michaelangelo at the Academia today, as well as the replicas, in Piazza d Signoria and Piazza Michaelangelo. More photos of the art in the Academia are at https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/The-Academia-and-David
We arrived midday, via train from Venice, and just walked a bit to get out bearings. Here are some city views, Ponte Vecchio, Pitti Palace, Piazza d. Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio, Duomo, and city scenes. This dramatic storm added excitement. The view is from our hotel, just before the rain started. More pics will be posted at our gallery https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Florence
We have a couple museum visits and a day trip to Tuscany planned for this week, but left some free time to stop the great leather and jewelry shops!
The rain cooled the city so we got put early to visit the Duomo and Baptistry. Photos at https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/The-Duomo-and-Bapistry
Today we visited Murano and Burano, the venetian craft islands and enjoyed watching a glass demonstration and shopping, of course. https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Murano-for-glass-Burano-for-lace
We visited the cathedral and museum today. The mosaic covered inside is incredibly decorated, but without a lot of sunlight appeared dark. Gold leaf was baked onto the glass to make the background gold! The museum has remnants of some older mosaics we could view up closed as well as the original bronze horses, which could be as old as 2100 years. Enjoy our photos at https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/St-Marks-Basilica–VENICE
Venice, at last! Yesterday was trying! I tweeked my back on the way to the airport. Our flight from Split was delayed, so we missed our connector and didn’t arrive until very late in Venice, almost 10 and the water bus takes over an hour and half from there with many spots along the way. But just before midnight, we arrived at our hotel. Today we visited the Piazza San Marco and got our bearings, then skipped the line at the Doges Palace. Photos will be posted at our smugmug photo gallery
These are the latest galleries. Tomorrow we will visit St Mark’s Basilica so you can see that tomorrow
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