Roma

14 January 2022

Finally lucked out and got a cheap and direct flight from Stuttgart to Rome. I planned on going on a Ski club trip to Switzerland, but the weather favored a weekend in Italy over the Alps. Decisions decisions. Jenn did not want to miss out on the fun so she flew in from Jersey. Matt could not make it because of work and we did not waste any time to rub it in...with Britt's permission of course. Matt loves his desserts!


After a wonderful seafood pasta lunch at one of the restaurants next door to our Airbnb we checked into yet another great spot picked out by Matt and Britt. View from the Airbnb down one of the alleys of the Rione V Ponte neighborhood adjacent to the River Tiber and perfectly nestled between Vatican City and the sites of aincient Rome.


A Royal Enfield parked on our street


Throughout Rome there are potable drinking fountains likely to help beat the sweltering summer heat. This time of year, they are more recreational than life or death. I probably should have gone all in and mounted the fountain.


Random Roman Catholic cathedral. There is no shortage of Jesus in the city.


Without Matt constantly annoying her, Britt becomes a stalker...or perhaps she is documenting me being anti-social.




More cathedrals



Jenn scheduled a wine tasting for us that she used to enjoy while working in Rome.


We definitely got our money's worth (65 EUR) and I enjoyed it so much I bought a dozen bottles and shipped them to Mama G. Hope she enjoys them! The Barolo was a crowd favorite.


More desserts without Matt, haha


We experienced the wine tasting with a young couple from New York. She worked for CBS, he worked for the NYPD, and her mother tagged along. Somehow we did not run them off and they invited us to a follow-on bar to double down on the wine tasting.


15 January 2022

The next morning was really rough. We had a tour of Vatican City scheduled for 1000 so we got our act together an arrived probably only a half hour late. There was no line and it seems the 1000 (self-guided) tour could have happened later in the morning or day. Despite how we felt, it was pretty neat to see all the history. Britt and Jenn listened to Rick Steves' audio guide as we strolled along but I don't think I missed out on too much.

This pine cone is supposedly 2,000 year old.


A random globe thing in the center of the courtyard entrance.


Random hall filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of statues. Must have been good business to be a sculptor back in the day.


View of Rome from the Vatican. You can barely see the Apennines mountains in the background.


The Museo Pio Clementino is full of some of the larger and more famous statues. The Apollo Belvedere was under rennovation, but we still got to see more than our fair share including Laocoön and His Sons’. The statue represents a scene of the Trojan war myth, told in Virgil’s Aeneid. The Laocoön priest warned the citizens not to accept the giant wooden horse sent as a gift by their enemies the Greeks. Learning of this, goddess Athena sent two snakes to devour Laocoön’s sons and he ended up being killed in the attempt to save his children. Aeneas listened to the advice of Laocoön and left Troy by sea, arriving in Italy. He was the forefather of Romulus and Remus, who accordingly to the legend, founded Rome. It is believed that this statue is actually a copy of a Greek one that might have been made of bronze.


Another statue depicting the beheading of Medusa.


The Round Hall has a beautiful mosaic floor and ceiling influenced by the Panthenon. In the center of the room is the Porphyry Basin, which was Emperor Nero's bathtub. The bathtub is made of a single piece of igneous rock (cooled lava) and was brought from Egypt. A bit much, no?



One of the corridors between museum exhibits with a view over the courtyard and St. Peter's Basilica.


The Gallery of Tapestries was filled with huge rugs that were made in Belgium for the Pope and depict Biblical scenes including this one where they are apparently trying to kill the sweet baby Jesus.


One of our favorite exhibits was the Maps Hall. In addition to the huge maps depicting geographical understanding in the sixteenth century, the hall has one of the most beautiful ceilings in a museum filled with them.




Raphael's Room had some of the best paitings of the museum outside of the Sistine Chapel.





Even the spiral staircase at the museum entrance is impressive.


After several hours of walking (it's a big museum), we were ready for some lunch and grabbed some pizza across the street. Matt alleges we missed one of the best pizza spots in Rome around the corner, but I think he was just jealous.

Then we walked on over to St Peter's Basilica and decide to stroll around outside instead of going in.




On the taxi ride from the Vatican, I snuck a quick shot out the window in Piazza Venezia of the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) which locals refer to as "the typewriter." Made of marble, it honors Italy's former king Victor Emmanuel III and the soldiers who fought in WWI. This Victor guy was part of the Triple Entante during WWII but reigned during the rise and fall of facism in Italy under Mussolini. Complicated history...


The taxi dropped us off at the Colosseum just before sunset.



Jenn made reservations at the fancy Court bar with a great view of the Colosseum.



Walking by the Forum


Altare della Patria at night


Trevi Fountain





Dinner at The Pantheon



Jenn always insists on sharing her food


Piazza Navona near our Airbnb


16 January 2022

Making the rounds of the same sights during the day in reverse




Some morning champagne by the Trevi Fountain




Jenn trying to get lucky


Evidence of Jenn assaulting me and misinterpreting her wishes coming true


More wine and cheese


Cool cars near the Spanish Steps




We tried to do a tour of the Colosseum but they closed the ticket office as we arrived. It was still nice walking the grounds on the outside.






Rooftop drinks on the Altare della Patria at sunset




17 January 2022

Jenn got up early to make her way back to the states but Britt and I took our time during a lazy morning before heading back to Germany. Grazie Roma, è stato bellissimo!