Rome Day #2

It sure felt good to sleep! Our second day in Rome proved to be another big walking day.

We went to St. Peter's Bascilica Square. The Pope lives in the building off to the right and will sometimes make a public appearance in the square. Steven is the most awesome tour guide and suggested we get there first thing in the morning before all the crowds started to arrive. Our plan worked perfectly!

Note the dome on the Bascilica. We climbed to the top of it.

Statues, statues, everywhere are statues.

Here's a close up look at the statues that line the top of St. Peter's Bascilica.

This is the backside of the statues. Note how large they are compared to the person standing there.

Inside the ornately decorated Bascilica, we started making our way up to the top of the dome. We are peering down to look at the little ant-like people standing on the main floor.

Up, up we climbed. All 320 stairs of climbing.

Everybody made it--including me!! Good thing I got my new heart when I did or I don't know how long it would have taken me to make that climb.

The view from the top was incredible as we looked out over all of Vatican City, especially enjoyed seeing the beautiful Vatican gardens.

What goes up, must come down...

We stopped on our way down to the ground atop the front part of the Bascilica where we saw the back side of the statues. Look at that dome we climbed.

 Here's a zoomed in photo of the dome to show all the people observing the view.

Every inch of the building had something ornate decorating it. Details, details, everywhere were details to catch your eye.

This is Michelangelo's Pieta--Mary mourning the dead body of Christ taken from the cross.

This is a bronze statue of Peter. In one hand he holds the keys, the symbol of the authority given him by Christ, while with the other hand he blesses everyone. His big right toe has been worn smooth by the people who walk by and kiss it or rub it with their hand in an act of reverence.

Back outside in the fresh air on such a beautiful day. Let me just say right here that we had beautiful weather every single day of our 3-week vacation. Not one rainy day to speak of. Perfect!!

 Lunch was at a quaint restaurant where the owner took very good care of us.

Steven and Patricia eating tiramisu just down to the coffee part of the dessert at the bottom of the dish.

We went on a tour of the Catacombs--an underground burial place. Originally the Catacombs were intended only for the dead friars in the 16th century. However, in the following centuries it became a status symbol to be entombed in there. No photos were allowed.

It was located in a very beautiful setting.

Another cathedral with a carved ceiling and a beautiful marble bust of Christ.

We took a little walking tour along the Appian Way--one of the most famous ancient Roman roads built in 312 B.C. It was so absolutely beautiful and serene out in the countryside.

This was a challenging road for both pedestrians and motorists. The "sidewalk" was very narrow and the gigantic rock/cobblestones used on the road made for a very bumpy ride.

We got tired of walking--especially when we got to a busy road and there was no room for us to walk, so we waited at a bus stop for a much appreciated bus ride.

Time to see another church. This time Santa Maria in Cosmedin where we stood in line behind the gated arches to see the Bocca Della Verita (Mouth of Truth).

This sculpture was made famous in the movie Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Legend says your hand will be bitten off if you put your hand in and tell a lie.

All four of us came home with both hands, so no liars amongst us.

We watched a group of women protesters for a while to see if the many police officers nearby were going to be called into action.

Ruins, ruins, everywhere were ruins.

This huge block of ruins has four Roman temples and the remains of Pompey's Theater where Julius Caesar was killed.

Stray dogs and cats are well taken care of in Rome. People leave food out for the animals all the time. This particular area of the ruins is a designated stray cat shelter.

Anybody hungry and craving salami?

Apparently we were all hungry, but none of us chose salami. Pasta was the choice of the evening.

And where else for these three to get their nighttime snack?

Total step count for the day was 26,437 which was 13.35 miles.