Rome (September 28)

By the weekend of September 28, I had been in Viterbo for 5 weeks (wow, where did the time go?).  It was time for me to take a big step and navigate TrenItalia, the "Amtrak" of Italy.  It was a bit nerve-racking since my Italian was not very good, but I managed to buy tickets from Viterbo to Rome and back for me and my first guest from the States, Mike King (from Atlanta).  :-)

The trip from Viterbo to Rome's main airport, FCO, took about 2 hours. Mike's plane landed on time, he zipped through customs, and picked up his baggage without incident.  All I had to do was walk through the baggage claim doors, about a 5-minute walk from the train station, and there he was waiting for me.  It was nice to see a familiar face from Atlanta, from back home.

Before returning to Viterbo, we spent the day and evening in Rome, making the most of our short visit.  In the morning, we took in several sites:

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (see left and right)
, a towering majestic "church" that would be larger than many of what would be considered cathedrals back in the States.  It's also one of four basilicas in Rome.

The Church of St. Peter in Chains.  I had seen this holy place two years ago on my Running Through History tour with Coach Tribble and the Westminster students and it didn't disappoint the second time around.  It's amazing that this important relic in the Catholic Church (see right)
sits in a very small and unassuming church tucked away from Vatican City.  And yet, that is the reality.

The Colosseum
.  While this fortress goes without saying, both Mike and I had been inside of it, so we were less inclined to enter due to the large volume of people milling about.  However, the outside of the Colosseum will always stop me in my tracks!

Palatine Hill, a very ancient part of the city, dating back to 500 B.C., was the home to Emperors as well as other well-to-do dignitaries of the time.  The picture at the right is what's left of "Stadio," a site for entertainment and recreation of all kinds for the Emperors.

The Roman Forum is the site of government buildings and market places back in ancient times.  The picture at the left is the remains of the Temple of Castor and Palloux, the Gemini "twins" of Zeus and Leda.

Pizza followed by a very cool "neighborhoody" street just of the main beat of the city, filled with local stores, residences, boutique hotels, and restaurants.

Piazza Nuvona.  Oh my goodness.  This place was amazing and ridiculously packed with tourists (see right).  We figured that it wouldn't be so touristy since it was September and kids were back in school.  Boy were we wrong!  Street vendors and people everywhere!  The mime in the picture at the right was incredible.  He stood perfectly still until somebody put money in his tin cup.  So I did and he provided a rare animated shot for me.

The Pantheon.  My colleague, Richard (Latin/Greek teacher), had suggested that we go see this during the day, although it was quite nice at night.  It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings.  It was been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, it had been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs.  The Pantheon is informally known as Santa Maria della Rotonda.  The square you see on the right is the Piazza della Rotonda.  The inside of the Pantheon is very spacious, with the sanctuary taking up only a part of the space.  Below and right is the alter with the crucifix behind it.  On the left is a shot of the Pantheon with the circular part of the building in the distance.

Trevi Fountain.  This was our last stop and also a suggestion by Richard to see at night.  If I thought the Piazza Nuova was packed it didn't hold a candle to the crowd we witnessed at The Trevi Fountain.  The Trevi Fountain was like the scene at a concert.  Mike and I didn't actually get right up to the fountain because there were simply too many people.  Unbelievable!  Nevertheless, what we did see was pretty amazing.  I now see why this "fountain," which is more like a large pool (see right), is on every must-see list of things to do/see in Rome.  The picture to the right was taken by Mike after we left the Trevi Fountain.  He says that he didn't try to make the picture appear have the statue in front of me scratching my chin but I'm not sure if I believe him!