Neither of our families would make a decision on Thanksgiving last year. So we decided to take matters into our own hands and spend it in Rome… Andrew claims it was the best vacation of his life.
Layover in Zurich
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- Our flight to Rome had us stopping over in Zurich. Snow + massive decorations = best layover possible
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- Why sit around in the airport for several hours?
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- Very pretty city and got to see SNOW… not common for our Southern Family
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- Kathryn enjoying the decorations
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- Did not have a lot of time in Zurich but was great to get to see
First Day in Rome – Mass with Pope Francis, Trevi Fountain, Victor Emanuel II Monument, St Peter in Chains
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- First item on the list? Mass with the Pope
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- Our first view of Vatican City
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- St Peter’s Basilica
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- Swiss Guard
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- The Pope with the Euchrist
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- Priests heading out to perform Communion
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- Priests giving Communion
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- We also had a tour of the Scavi and Necropolis where St Peter’s tomb lies, no cameras allowed anywhere near that one
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- Architecture on the way to the Victor Emmanuel II Monument
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- Had to go past the Trevi fountain on the way
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- One of Andrew’s favorite places in Rome
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- Beautiful buildings
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- More buildings
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- First glimpse of the momument of Victor Emmanuel II
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- The first king of Italy
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- Impressive!
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- San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains)
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- Below the alter are the actual chains which held St Peter
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- Beautiful works of art on the walls
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- San Pietro in Vincoli
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- Ceiling of San Pietro in Vincoli
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- St Peter’s chains
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- Michelangelo’s Moses
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- Moses up close
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- Piazza Navona in Rome
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- Street artist in Piazza Navona
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- Fountain in the courtyard of the Pantheon
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- Other side of the Pantheon statue
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- The Pantheon at night
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- The Trevi Fountain
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- So packed, for good reason!
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- Most nerve-racking moment? Letting a stranger hold my camera at night
Rome Day 2 – Orvieto
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- Before heading to Orvieto for the day…
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- Andrew woke up before sunrise to get some pictures from the top of the Spanish Steps
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- Great view of the Victor Emanuel II Monument
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- Beautiful City
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- From the top of the Spanish Steps up the hill
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- Domes, domes, everywhere
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- Some fantastic views
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- Kathryn taking it all in
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- Look over there!
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- Charming streets
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- Arches, shops… all so laid back
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- Orvieto is well known for its wines
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- Our first glimpse of the Duomo
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- We made it up the hill!
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- The facade of the Duomo
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- Map of the caves under Orvieto
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- The remnants of a grain mill in a cave
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- Founded by the Etruscans in pre-Roman times
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- The caves have been used to “farm” pigeons for centuries
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- Cisterns below the pigeon holes allowed for easy cleanup of the mess they made
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- Only a few of the caves are open to the public, many are still used by locals as storage space
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- A long way down
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- More scenery
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- Across the valley
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- Magnificent view of the city below Orvieto
Day 3 – Food Tour!
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- Cappuccino crème in mini-chocolate tea cups, way to start out the food tour!
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- Andrew’s favorite
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- Kathryn makes friends with the butcher
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- Sausage anyone?
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- Come on guy, look at all this food
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- Walking into a local market, you can’t build anything in Rome without running into history
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- I don’t know what this is but I want it
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- Get yer veggies in
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- Rub the garlic on the bread…
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- then add the goodness
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- Cannoli?
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- Sure can!
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- We had a great lunch at this restaurant, it is built into the side of a hill
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- And the hill is made completely from pottery shards, centuries of leftover Amphora from transporting olive oil
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- Kathryn’s favorite, Suppli – delicious fried balls of rice and meat
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- Obligatory gellato at the end of the tour
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- Hadrian’s Wall, the old entrance to the city
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- No Bulgari’s buried here yet, nice to have a plot though
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- Keats’ grave
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- Kathryn’s favorite thing maybe in all of Rome
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- The Angel of Grief in the Non-Catholic cemetery in Rome
Day 4 – Ancient Rome from the ground
Bad Andrew, these are still in processing. Colosseum, Roman Forum, Circus Maximius, and the Pantheon
Day 5 was Thanksgiving, and we spent the day in at the Vatican.
We saw the Scavi & Necropolis where St Peter’s tomb is and most of the Pope are laid to rest, as well as inside St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. The Swiss Guard and Vatican staff are extremely serious about not taking pictures in most of these areas, so Andrew left his camera at the hotel.
Day 6 – Rome from above
The top of the Victor Emanuel II Monument closed out our trip with views of the Roman Forum, Vatican City, and Colosseum from high up.