Then we entered the hotel to find this...
The hotel lobby was decorated with so many tennis balls hanging from the ceiling because of the Italian open.
From our hotel we could see this original city wall.
The next day we headed out to the Vatican and what a treat we had. I was totally blown away. It is more like a art museum on a very grand scale. As we arrived we entered along this vatican wall. The Vatican is a country in itself so has this wall.
The entrance into the Vatican
The inner courtyard
This bronze pine cone once stood in the Constantinian Basilica
The "Sphere within the sphere" by A. Pomodora, was set in the center of the courtyard in 1990
The Laocoon is an original Hellenistic work of the 1st century BC of immense artistic value.
The famous Belvedere Apollo was the first work with which Julius II formed the nucleus of the Vatican Museums actual collection.
This Belvedere Torso dates back to the 1st century BC.
There was a whole room of statues devoted to animals.
I spent a lot of time taking pictures of ceilings, arches, and floor mosaics.
The Chair of St. Peter by Bernini.
Michelangelo's Pieta
Wonderful tapestries. This one was amazing. As you walked through this gallery, the eyes of Jesus followed you. They really did.
The interior of the Michelangelo's dome decorated by Cavalier d'Arpino.
The Swiss Guard Corps goes back to Pope Julius II in 1506. The Swiss Guard Corps staff is now 100 men.
I took so many, many pictures of the Vatican I was truly so impressed but these are some highlights. I will finish with a few that I didn't take because we weren't allowed to take photos in the Sistine Chapel but I did purchase a book there and these are from the book ...
This is seen in one part of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It is Michelangelo's, The Creation of Adam. The Creator transmits life to Adam through the contact of finger tips.
"The Last Judgement by Michelangelo.
A friend gave me this link to a video of the Sistine Chapel. It is amazing. If you put your mouse on the picture you can see the ceiling and it is as if you are there ...
And one more from the Vatican. We went to a show in the evening and came back for this view of St. Peter's Basilica at night.
This day was an extremely busy day as we saw the Vatican in the morning and a tour of fountains and famous squares in the afternoon and an evening dinner with the tenors at night so here are some more highlights.
Have you ever seen such a huge fountain. It took up a full city block I'm sure.
The bee hive on this fountain represent the Word being sweet as honey.
This is a natural spring water fountain that many would fill their water bottles here.
The Spanish steps in the background were under construction but you can see them in the background.
Bruce filling up his water bottle from another source of spring water.
Part of the tenor show. A highlight for me was when the singers showed up at my table singing "Happy Birthday" with a candle in a dessert. It was my birthday the next day. It was a lot of fun.
The next day had us heading off towards the Roman colesium ...
Then off to the Pantheon
The Pantheon supports the largest concrete dome.
And then off to our ship ... the Royal Princess ... stay tuned.
