Joanna & Jesse Visit

Joanna and Jesse came from New York to visit us in Italy!

I flew to Rome from Sardinia and met them at the airport. We arrived at Termini Station and Joanna learned her first lesson about Rome. Romany people begging for money outside of the train station.

First stop on the tour was the Spanish Steps or as they are known in Italian, Scalinata della Trinity dei Monti. They were built in 1725 and are made up of 135 steps that lead from the Piazza di Spagna to the church as the top of the steps, the Trinity dei Monti. It was really tourist-y and hard to really see a whole lot. Plus, the obelisk at the top was under construction so it was hard to see. We decided to come back later...

We walked down the Via dei Carrozze and walked directly into the front of the most amazing little church. The Sant' Ambrosia e Carlo al Corso. It was built in 1610 to honor Saints Ambrose and Charles Borromeo. The remains of Saint Ambrose are interred in the church.

Headed over to the Trevi Fountain.. It was built in 1762 by Nicola Scalvi.

We headed over the to Pantheon..

Ended the day back at the Spanish Steps..

Day 2 stared with a walk down the street to the Santa Maria Maggiore in the Piazza dell'Esquilino.

Then off to the Vatican Museums

So, this is weird, but there's a whole room here with statues that have had their bits chopped off.

Scenes from the Vatican Museum Bathroom

We then headed over the the Vatican-- St Peter's Basilica...

After some rest we headed out to see Palau...

Joanna playing in the water.

I believe the conversation went a little like this:

Joanna- "Take your shoes off and get in the water with me."

Jesse- "No"

Joanna- "Fine, then I'll just throw this handful of sand at you." 

We headed out in the morning to Alghero and directly to Capo Caccia. It's about a twenty minute drive from Alghero up to the top.. We parked and headed down the 656 steps down into Neptune's Grotto..

Prior to the steps being installed, the Grotto was a prison..

Then over to Codrongianos to see the The Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia.

The church was finished in 1116 over the ruins of a pre-existing monastery, and consecrated on October 5 of the same year.

Roma! (Day 2)

The day started with a trip to the bus tour company at the top of the street from our hotel. For 35 Euros, we would be able to take the "Hop on/hop off" bus to all of the major areas in the city for the entire day. Made sense to me! Here's me and Terry on the bus.

First hop off location was the Castel Sant'Angelo (Also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian)--

The tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian was erected on the right bank of the Tiber, between 135 CE and 139 CE.  The popes converted the structure into a castle, beginning in the 14th century; Pope Nicholas III connected the castle to St. Peter's Basilica by a covered fortified corridor called the Passetto di Borgo. The fortress was the refuge of Pope Clement VII from the siege of Charles V's Landsknechte during the Sack of Rome (1527), in which Benvenuto Cellini describes strolling the ramparts and shooting enemy soldiers. Decommissioned in 1901, the castle is now a museum.

We hopped back on and let the bus kind of take us around the city to take some photos...

Here's the Vatican from the top of Via del Concilazione.

And looking towards Castel Sant'Angelo from the Vatican down Via dei Corridori. To the left is the secret passage that was built for the Pope to escape the Vatican to the Castel. 

Castel Sant'Angelo seen from the Lungotevere Tor di Nona across the Tiber via the Ponte Sant'Angelo. The Ponte, or bridge is a pedestrian only bridge.. Lots of street vendors.

Random building and the second one is the American Embassy.

First photo- SCOOTERS!!!!! Second- Religious art.

First Photo-In the distance is part of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument 

Second Photo- Me and Terry in front of the Trevi Fountain

This one deserves it's own explanation! 

In front of the Pantheon-- These guys are selling knock-off bags at low-medium prices and they are very persistent and will just about be haggled down to pennies on the dollar for these things. However, if the Guardia di Finanze (Finance Police) catch them with these bags- they get a HUGE fine!

And Finally-- Piazza Argentina--  della Largo di Torre Argentina. This piazza hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is located in the ancient Campus Martius area. The four temples, originally designated by the letters A, B, C, and D, front onto a paved street, which was reconstructed in the imperial era, after the fire of 80 CE.

Temple A was built in the 3rd century BCE, and is probably the Temple of Juturna built by Gaius Lutatius Catulus after his victory against the Carthaginians in 241 BCE.

Temple B, a circular temple with six columns remaining, was built by Quintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BCE to celebrate his victory over Cimbri.

Temple C is the most ancient of the three, dating back to 4th or 3rd century BCE, and was probably devoted to Feronia the ancient Italic goddess of fertility.

Temple D is the largest of the four, dates back to 2nd century BCE with Late Republican restorations, and was devoted to Lares Permarini, but only a small part of it has been excavated