The Baker Who Also Writes and Teaches
I have finally downloaded the pictures my husband took. I now have pictures of the insides of the building we went in. Here are the indoor pictures of the Pantheon:
This is Rapheal’s tomb.
I loved this picture of Thomas touching Jesus’ side.
Here is a great picture he took of the outside of the Pantheon. You can see how big it really is (and it does look larger on the inside than it does from the outside):
In front of the fountain outside of the Pantheon.
What St. Peter’s looks like when the president of Italy is visiting–we decided not to wait around to see how long he got a private tour. So we went here:
This is the Pantheon. It has the largest masonry dome in Europe at 142 feet. When Michaelangelo designed the dome for St. Peters, he made it 138 feet in deference to the Pantheon. In 608 Emperor Phocas donated the pagan temple to Pope Boniface IV, and doing so ensured that this marvelous Roman building would be preserved and maintained pretty much unaltered as the Christian church, Santa Maria ad Martyres. It is absolutely gorgeous inside. (I still need to get the indoor pics off My Hubby’s computer: his camera does much better on indoor shots than mine.)
Although my camera did come through for me on taking a picture of the dome. The tour book said not to be disappointed if it was raining and go to the Pantheon because the rain fell like a waterfall through the hole in the dome. When we left St. Peters it was raining, but the rain had stopped when we got to the Pantheon, so we didn’t get to see the waterfall.
About three (may be four) blocks from the Pantheon is Largo di Torre Argentina: this is where Julius Caesar was killed on the Ides of March.
Here is St. Peters when the Italian president isn’t visiting. The collonade was designed by Bernini to be outstretched and curving as the arms of the church reaching to embrace the faithful.
The Swiss Guard at St. Peter’s Basilica.
We are back, and we have lots of pictures! Rome was wonderful, and we saw everything we wanted to, which is amazing. We both thought it was the perfect place for our honeymoon. The weather was wonderful—it was in the mid-60s most of the time we were there. There were a couple of days we had to deal with rain, but it wasn’t bad. I’m going to piece meal the trip over several posts, or you will be scrolling forever. Our bed and breakfast was a couple of blocks from the Colesium and the Roman Forum:
Although we saw a lot of the outside of the Coliseum, we didn’t go in. I was up and down about going in because the Coliseum is where people went to cheer on other people being killed by gladiators and wild animals. I wasn’t too sure that I wanted to go and see where government endorsed killing was a sport. Then I found out that you had to pay to get in, and that I couldn’t do. So we didn’t. The Forum is what was once downtown ancient Rome. The three columns to the left are what remain of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. The columns in the center of the picture are what is left of the Temple of Saturn.
And here are some picture of us:
In front of the Trevi Fountain.
The Trevi Fountain
At Tre Scalia on the Piazza Navonna. This is one of the Top 10 best places in Rome to eat (from The Top Ten Rome Bible we carried around). I had seafood risotto, and it was one of the best seafood dishes that I have ever had. Then we had what they are known for: a tortula. It is the ultimate death by chocolate dessert. First you take chocolate gelato that is almost like fudge then rolled it in dark chocolate chunks and topped with whip cream and fudge sauce. Yes, it was sin on a plate, and I refuse to repent.
So there is the beginning of the Rome posts. For more pictures go to Tracy and Shawna.com where we have begun to post pictures (and I emphasize begun).