Rome with Mom

I was excited to get to take Mom to Rome, being Catholic I knew she would like the chance to go to the Vatican.  I really wanted to come back as well and try to see the Pope!  We only had a short one and a half days to explore, but we walked our tails off and saw a lot!  

We first went to the Colosseum and then walked to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

In the center is where the gladiators and wild animals would be caged before their battles.  They were hidden under the floor and would rise up to surprise their opponent.

The colosseum would be packed for the events and the women were sent to the top.  Mom and I walked up a few flights of stairs and they were extremely steep!

Arch of Constantine

Next we walked over to the Forum.  The area that contains ruins of many ancient government buildings.  This is the temple of Antoninus and Faustina dedicated by the senate in AD 141

The altar of Julius Caesar representing the spot where a temple was raised after his death.  

The Temple of Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda.

Temple of Vesta.....here the Vestal Virgins tended the sacred fire which was to burn at all times.  It was the life force of the city.  Men, except for Pontifex Maximus of course, were forbidden from entering this temple.

Parts of the retaining walls of Palatine Hill....one of the most ancient parts of Rome, 130 feet above the Forum.  There is proof that people have lived here since 1000 BC.

Stadium of Domitian

Leaving the Forum and heading towards the Piazza Navona, we see this building.  The National Monument to Victor Emmanual II, the first king of unified Italy.  I saw it the first time I was in Rome and just really thought it was beautiful.  It's huge when you approach it and just towers above the streets.  There is also a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the statue where all the people are standing.

Piazza Navona...a beautiful square in Rome full of tourist, performers, and locals selling their goods.

We had some yummy Italian food at a restaurant near the piazza.

And, of course, gelato...mom got tiramisu and I got pistachio, yum!

I didn't get to see the Pantheon the last time I came to Rome, so it was on my list!  It's pretty amazing to be walking in the midst of buildings on top of buildings and then run smack into this beauty.  The columns are massive!  It was built as a temple to all the gods.

You don't expect to walk inside and it be circular-shaped

The domed ceiling has an opening and is the world's largest unreinforced dome.  It's the only source of natural light in the Pantheon and when it rains there is a drain in the floor below.

The Church of St Ignatius of Loyola....We walked around and by this church a few times trying to find it.  It's nestled in with the buildings around it and is a little camouflaged.  I had no real reason to come here except that it was on my list of things I haven't seen.  But you could go to Rome for a month and not see all the sites!

Beautiful on the inside

Trevi Fountain..one of the largest Baroque fountains in Rome and the most famous fountain as well

Mom throwing her good luck coin in the water so she will one day return to Rome.

We passed this and I thought it was a cute little romantic setting

Spanish Steps...soooo touristy, but all the places were I guess.  Hard to get a good pic of this.

We walked to the top!  135 steps and realized we were now closer to our hotel!

It was a fun, busy first day but we had to get to bed early and make it to breakfast by 6:45 am!

Seeing the Pope!!!

This is definitely a check off my bucket list!  I never really thought I'd actually get to see the Pope in real life.  It was a little surreal to say the least.  I knew it could be a little difficult to get tickets but I wanted to try.  First of all, the tickets are free but you have to know where to get them.  After a little research, I found a church that you can email and ask for tickets.  You don't actually get a response until a week or two before the event.  I lucked out and found a guide who was willing to get us tickets and have them waiting for me at my hotel.  Even though he was a little boring for a guide, that gave him 5 stars in my book!  The church also replied to me and had tickets but I responded that they could give them to someone else.  My guide told me to get to the Vatican by 8:30 at the latest, so Mom and I were up at 6 and eating at 6:45.  When we got to the Vatican the line was already very, very long and they were letting people in.  There were so many groups of people there and sometimes you have to fight to keep your spot in line.  We finally got through the line and security, which, by the way, no one even checked if we had a ticket....not sure about that process.  We zig-zagged as far as we could to the front of the seating area and we were sitting by 8am!  So, if you're planning on going to the Wednesday Papal Blessing, get there by at least 7am!  The Blessing starts at 10:30!  It was a great day and I was thankful for that.  It was even hot!

There were masses and masses of people!  I think they let everyone in, you don't really have to have a ticket if you are willing to stand.  All of these people were behind us, thank goodness!

The Pope comes out into St. Peter's Square and the crowd goes nuts!  He rides throughout the entire crowd on his Popemobile.  He makes sure to go all over, it's at least 20 minutes.  If you can get a seat on the edges of the sections, then it is a good possibly that you may get a high five from the Pope. :)  In all the craziness and everyone jumping on their chairs to see  him, I actually got a pretty good pic.  There were ladies in front of us going crazy and every time I would raise my camera up for a pic, a big iPad would get in my way.  So I was grateful I got this one!  

This is a bad pic but it was so sweet seeing him kissing the babies.  Made me wish I had E with me, but she would have been miserable in the sun and sitting still for 5 hours.

The procession before the Pope goes to his seat

You can see him walking up the stairs in between the flags

I don't really know all that was going on because it was not in English.  A few times the Cardinal from each country (not every country but about 10 or so) would speak in their native language and tell us a summary of what the Pope was saying.  They also announced all the visiting groups, churches, etc. and we heard there was one from Owensboro there at the same time!

The front of St Peter's Basilica from where we were sitting.  It was unfortunately closed while we were there, because the Pope wanted it to be, so Mom didn't get to go inside.  That was a bummer.  The celebration ended after a couple of hours and we headed to lunch and then to meet our guide for a Vatican tour.

The dome of St Peter's Basilica

I had a private guide give us a tour of the Vatican Museums, grounds, and the Sistine Chapel.  It was nice to walk around and listen to him (although a little boring) without kids grabbing at me.
This is the Gallery of Statues

Medicine man

This statue of Laocoon and his sons has been one of the most famous ancient statues ever since it was found in Rome in the early 1500s.  The figures are life-size of Laoccon, the Trojan priest, and his sons being attacked by sea serpents.  He was killed, along with his sons, because he was trying to warn Troy of the Trojan horse...that's one theory but there are others.  It is a very intricate statue because you can see the suffering in their faces and bodies.  The date of this statue is still up for debate, between 27 BC and 68 AD.  It is still in great condition for an excavated piece, but they still have missing parts.  You can obviously tell that the arm has been reattached, at first they couldn't find the arm so a sculptor made one for it and it was actually positioned the wrong way.  Then they eventually found the arm and it wasn't until 1980 that the arm was restored.

Sculpture of a mask they would use in performances long ago.  The hole would help their voices carry.

Bronze statue of Hercules

I think I put this tapestry in my last Rome blog, but i just think it's amazing!  It is a very large tapestry, I just zoomed in on Jesus, and as you walk down the whole thing Jesus' eyes follow you.   The colors are vibrant as well.  That is definitely a piece of art!

Beautiful artwork throughout

Vatican City is it's own country, the smallest in the world, and this is the little fire department that serves this whole country :)  The residents, about 800, have their own passports and Vatican City also has it's own currency.

We had a great time!  Rome has gotten so, so touristy though and I despise the street sellers.  They will not leave you alone and are completely annoying!  Always keep an eye on your belongings as well!  I think Mom's favorite part was the bus ride back to the airport.  We sat in the front seat and witnessed first hand the CRAZY driving in Italy!  We kept closing eyes and grimacing at how close we were to hitting other cars and people!!  Fun times!