25th Wedding Anniversary Trip to Italy

 We have been talking about going to Europe for years, and finally the time was right so we chose to visit Italy and spend a couple days in Amsterdam. (Selfie on the long flight to Rome)

Rome is Italy's capital with nearly 3,000 years of globally influential art, architecture and culture on display!

 Out hotel was more like a Bed and Breakfast, in the middle of an apartment building. We would have never found it but Brad asked some guy who walked in large automatic doors, and then paged the hotel which was located on the third floor.  

 Inside our hotel room

 View from our window

 Eating our first Italian meal...

 Spaghetti 

 and my first real Italian geltao - this was the moment I became a gelato addict!

 Our awesome tour guide for every site in Vatican City

 View of Rome from Saint Peter's Square

 Our little tour group and flag

 Saint Peter's Basilica

 Saint Peter's Square

 View of the Vatican Obelisk

 Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico) and residence of the Pope

 Catholic priest walking around the Vatican

 Pope headquarters and Vatican City wall

 Entrance to the Vatican and its museums

 The Vatican

 Main alter inside of the Vatican

 Vatican library ceiling

 A Confessional inside the Vatican

 Beautiful interior of Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

 St. Stephen of the Abyssinians Catholic Church

 Smaller church hidden away in Vatican city

The Priest of the little church

Church courtyard 

The next several pictures were taken of the inside of various churches in Vatican City... 

 Our very enthusiastic tour guide explaining about the Sistine Chapel. He described each painting portrayed on the walls (replicas were on display outside since it was forbidden to talk or take pictures inside the Chapel)... 

 The next several pictures were taken of sculptures and artifacts inside the Vatican museums...

 Our guide explained that this is how colorful many of the statues and sculptures were before being dimmed by weather and time.

Famous sculpture called Laocoon Group

 Other famous sculptures...

 Beautiful statues from the Chiaramonti Museum which connected the Palace of the Belvedere to the Vatican. 

Greek statue of Cesar as a young boy 

Ornate tapestries...

this one showing an optical illusion 

 Temple of Hadrian

 Cortile della Pigna or public courtyard where

this interesting work of art was located called 'Sphere Within Sphere' 

 Our guide is demonstrating how the sphere rotates

 The Pigna (Pinecone) is also located in the Cortile della Pigna

 Other artwork on the Vatican grounds

 The Vatican gardens

Back view of the Piazza del Popolo 

 Castel Sant'Angelo 

 viewo of Castel Sant'Angelo from the Tiber River or Fiume Tevere

Monument Victor Emmanuel II 

 Sant'Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona 

 Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) in Piazza Navona

 Ancient Rome - The Palatine Hill

Foro di Cesare

Other pictures of Ancient Rome... 

 Roman Forum

 Arch of Titus

The Piazza del Colosseo and Colosseum 

Roman Pantheon 

Other famous places...

 Campo de'Fiori

 Trastevere Neighborhood

  Famous 'del triato' Gelato

 I can't tell 'good' gelato from 'bad' gelato because in Italy it's all good!!  

 Cool road graffiti

and spray-paint art!