It turns out that Rome wasn't built in a day...

...and it can't be seen in a day either. Still, Rob and I did our best when we dropped in for a day (just a 1.5 hour train ride from Florence). We managed to see the Pantheon, St. Peters Basilica, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. All in all, a pretty busy and productive day for us. We stumbled on the Pantheon, but it was actually one of the cooler sites. It's still used as a church and the architecture was really impressive. I've included a short video I took that very briefly "shows you around."

Next we hit St. Peters. The plaza itself is very impressive, but pales in comparison to the Basilica which is massive and beautiful (if not a little gaudy :). I think I got a little more Catholic as I walked in...don't worry though, it wore off by my second beer in the Irish pub that night. :)

Sadly the Basilica was a little dark so the pictures do not do it justice. Below you'll find a few shots from throughout St Peter's, including the supposed tomb/shrine/remains of St. Peter. We also climbed the dome (which was trippy) and saw the crypt of Popes which did include the late Pope John Paul II where people were gathered, some crying. He was obviously very loved. Lastly we stopped buy the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

Piazzale Michelangelo

Across the River Arno and up a decent hill is a place called Piazzale Michelangelo which sports a scenic outlook, a copy of the David, and a series of gardens.

Rob and I walked over one day (not a bad hike) and wandered around a bit. The view was spectacular.

Not much really needs to be said (which rarely stops me I know, so enjoy it :), just enjoy the pictures (the panoramic was stiched together from 6 photos).

Well, we've "upgraded" wireless places after a series of frustrations at our previous spot which I really wanted to like because it is named Naima, presumably after the John Coltrane song. Unfortunately, Naima never seemed to let us connect if two other people were already connected, so we searched the town for another hotspot and found Moyo, another trendy cafe with free WiFi. We decided to go the next day. There was only one flaw in my plan -- I forgot my passport and there is an Italian law requiring all people using a public/free internet location to register their use of said connection.

So...instead, I'm typing in notepad and drinking a beer. Not a bad consolation, but I've got two sets of pictures and two posts besides this one waiting in the wings.

Rob (proving again that he's the smart one in the bunch) did bring his passport and has successfully scored a wireless access code, but is currently having connection issues (hopefully not caused by me trying to piggy back on his code). So...now our "upgraded" wireless spot is not seeming too "upgraded". Argh.

Hmmm...while I wait for Rob to struggle through things, I'm perusing the magazines on the table and have made quite the discovery -- a woman named Juliana Moreira on the cover of an Italian magazine called Max. I don't know who she is, or what she does, but guys...she looks like she's worth a google. :) Actually, gals...you might want to take a peek too.

Still no luck and ironically we're thinking about hitting the previous wireless place in hopes of it being better...

Bear with us guys - we're trying.

On a related note, Rob and I went to the Uffizi for the third or fourth time to attempt to get the "Friends of Uffizi" pass so that we can pop in there as frequently as we'd like (among other places). The first time it was closed and not providing cards because of a technical problem, the second time it was closed for random maintainance, and this last time we finally got in the door, but were told we needed an appointment...which we made. Too little too late you say? You're probably right, but it's the freaking principle now. I'm going Galvan on this one and won't quit until I "win!"

Also, the girl manning the "Friends of Uffizi" desk was anything but friendly. Maybe friendliness only comes after your membership dues are paid.

Rob is literally pulling out his hair now and cursing at his computer (and he doesn't even have "f*cking Vista!" Which, by the way, after using that for a month now I'm only more convinced it sucks...lots more useless garbage for twice as much inconvenience - yay! Sorry, I digress...maybe I'll come around when they decide to make it not suck.)

Editors note: I have successfully returned to Moyo and acquired an internet access card. The connection is working without a hitch and you all should see a lot more posts! I have posted three new blurbs today (and back-dated them, so scroll through). There's more to come...hopefully readership will pickup again. :)

On the positive side, Rome's train station uses Intel graphics...

...on the not so positive side, they probably hate Intel graphics. I'm basing this on the giant blue screen we found in the middle of the terminal. Bugcheck code: 0xEA, device: ialmrnt5.dll. I'll be submitting the bug when I get a legit internet connection. :)
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Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore

The museum behind the duomo in Florence holds a variety of art and sculptures that were originally created and placed in the nearby Cathedral, Tower, and Baptistery. Many of the pieces come from the well known Donatello (the artist, not the ninja turtle, who while martially artistic does not, to my knowledge, have any artwork displayed in Florence). While each piece in the museum deserves it's own story, I was most interested in one. Michelangelo is credited with two sculptures known as the Pieta. His second piece with this title is housed in the Duomo's Museum and is special for a couple reasons. First, it was intended to be placed within Michelangelo's own tomb. It was started when he was very late in life and the work was never finished (it also never adorned Michelangelo's funerary). Second, you'll notice in the picture that the sculpture is fractured in a couple places, most notably Christ's left arm. This allegedly occured after Michelangelo attempted to destroy the statue in a fit of rage after finding an impurity in the stone. It was later repaired by one of Michelangelo's students, who also died before completing it. Third, and perhaps most interesting is that Michelangelo is believed to have carved his own likeness into the face of Nicodemus (the man holding Christ). Nicodemus was one of the people that is said to have helped bury Christ and was also apparently referenced in some texts as being an artist and sculptor. Michelangelo is said to have identified with Nicodemus in both the artistic sense as well as in a spiritual sense as both men allegedly were "born" into their faith in their later years. Michelangelo's Pieta and Donatello's sculpture of Mary Magdalene (seen below) just seemed to give off a different vibe (to me) than the other sculptures, but there were so many amazing pieces in the museum. The last pieces I'll mention are Lorenzo Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise." These ten bronze reliefs depict the stories of the old testament and they adorned the southern door of the Baptistery (copies of the pieces now hold that place -- see the pictures below). The doors were dubbed "The Gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo. Interestingly the area between a baptistery and a cathedral, which these doors faced, was (is?) apparently often referred to as "paradise." The original works are now encased in nitrogen to maintain their appearance. All in all, I was most impressed with the museum. It was much larger than I expected and housed a fairly vast collection of pieces. A return visit might be necessary. :)

Sorry for the delay...

Hi all! Sorry for the delay on posting - the internet cafe we've been trying to hit was closed. It's open today though and we've got some great pics to post (I even managed to get a couple woth Rob in them).

Couple notes...

Gelato (still) rocks...

No need to order at the cafe - they knew our drinks when we walked in. Winners! :)

Cobblestone is not a good running surface...

We found a shortcut to the Irish pub!
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Up Another Bell Tower...

Rob and I were wandering around and hoping to sneak into the Duomo if the lines were short. They weren't. But, we did find ourselves standing at the entrance of the Campinile (bell tower) of the Duomo and there was not a single person in line. So, we bought a ticket (5 euros) and started the climb. The tower is over 400 steps up and is a combination of narrow switch backs and occasional longer sets of straight stairs -- vastly different than Pisa. It was quite a hike, but well worth it. At the top we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the Duomo, the baptistery, as well as scenic views of the city and surrounding countryside. The climb was also a solid reminder that maybe I should be doing more running and less Irish beer drinking...okay, at least more running. :) (Editor's note: we climbed the tower about 10-11 days ago and I've run about 5 times since then -- even got Rob out for one! No comment on the Irish beer...) We've got a few duomo pictures stashed for a later post. We're saving them for after we get inside the Duomo and get some interior shots as well as shots from the top of the Duomo. In the meantime though, here are some great pics from the top of the tower...