Rome - The Roman forum and the Palantine Hill

Yes, we are back in the United States now.  In fact, we are in Tacoma, WA preparing to drive our "stuff" down to Surprise, AZ to live near my folks in the Warm of Arizona.  But, I'm still catching up on posting for Rome and I have all these great photos!

So, after the "outrage"and on Christmas Eve, we bought the combination ticket to visit the ruins of the Roman Forum, the Palantine Hill, and the Colosseum.  We still have the remaining ticket to go inside the Colosseum and it's good for one year, so maybe that will happen.  But, we started at the Roman Forum and we are so glad we did.  You can see all these ruins from the main street, but it is not the same as wandering among them and listening to Rick Steves explain them.  My favorites were the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, the Julius Caesar's temple, and the gardens on the Palantine Hill.

The Arch of Constantine.  This is where the processions would enter the Forum grounds, bringing  tribute and  slaves from distant wars to present to the Roman Government and the Emperor.

The processions would stop at the Treasury to "drop off" the  captured treasures and continue to stand before the Forum.

Steve found a nice place to sit.  These "fallen" marbles appear to be set there for this purpose, but it seemed a little  naughty to sit there.

The back side of the Temple of the Vestal Virgins.  The complex was much larger to house the priestesses and they had a huge garden for contemplation, surrounded by statues of past priestesses.

Part of the Vestal gardens.  It was the size of a football field.  You can see the Palantine Hill rising above it.

That single column in the center was the Rostrum, where anyone (or maybe just senators?) could stand and deliver his (you know, it was a him) opinion and make announcements.  There were many more columns and the Temple of Saturn behind was huge.

This is taken from the opposite side of the Forum ruins, looking out toward the Arch of Constantine in the distance.

The view of Rome from atop the Palantine Hill

The Gardens on the Palantine Hill, overlooking the Forum, must be glorious at the height of Summer.  Here you see the Prickly Pear that I see all over Arizona and saw all over Malta.  It seems to be ubiquitous.

The rose gardens here are surrounded by beautiful citrus trees.  We saw citrus trees (orange, lemon, lime) all over Spain, too.  They seemed to be a sort of gift from the government to the people, a source of beauty and sustenance.

Me and the twilight Forum behind

The Colosseum viewed from the Palantine gardens

The palaces built on the Palantine Hill must have been gorgeous and imposing.  You can still see the landscaping.  This Roman pines are really something.  I love the silhouette of trees, especially these trees.

The distant view of Rome through an ancient portal on the Palantine Hill

When we were kicked out of the Forum, we ended back at the Colosseum, as the gods intended.  It was sunset and somehow I was able to lighten this up to look like daylight.  Hmmm...

Christmas Day dawned and you could hear the bells of the church next door and all the churches all over Rome ringing and ringing and ringing.  It was a moment that I will always remember; standing next to the open casement windows hearing those joyful bells.  There was no one around; everyone seemed to be inside listening, too.  

Roma - The Vatican and the Pantheon

We have moved on from Rome now, having left on the 28th of December for London.  However, I have been remiss by not posting anything about our last days there.

First, you must know that Steve had his passport and wallet stolen on December 23.  (Yes, never put that sort of thing in your pocket in any big European city.  There are pickpockets everywhere, but especially in the subways and large gatherings.)  The timing was not good because the staff at the U.S. Consulate in Rome was off for the Christmas holidays.  Fortunately, the lovely guards at the Consulate were able to call the person "on call" and Steve started a case file that was completed on Dec. 28 with the issuing of his temporary (1-year) passport at the Consulate.  It was a humiliating, frustrating, and expensive time.  We had to change one flight and two hotel reservations.  We had to make an additional 2 night reservation in Rome.  It was hard to shut all that out and have a good Christmas holiday, but we did pretty well.

We video chatted with all our kids and Meghan's boyfriend and we talked with my parents and one of my brothers all on Christmas Eve.  That is not for wimps, either.  It mean staying up until past midnight and waking up at 6:30am on Christmas Day to call.  It felt rather strange, to be frank.  At 6:30am on Christmas morning, it was still 10pm on Christmas Eve in Tacoma.

So, in between all the drama of being victimized, filing a police report, canceling credit and bank cards, changing reservations, and getting a new passport, we continued to enjoy the offerings of Rome.  Before the drama, we visited the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel, where Donnie accidentally broke the rules and took pictures of the Sistine Chapel (what the heck, I'm posting some of them).  It was all amazing.  They have so much from so many civilisations that some rooms are really just warehouses.  In fact, they probably have those, too.

The inner courtyard of the Vatican Museums

A view of Rome from the Vatican 

The Belvedere Apollo from 330-320 BC

Laocoon - found in 1506 on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, probably dates from 30-40 BC.  It is said that Laocoon & his sons were killed by Athena and Posidon because he warned the Trojans not to take in the Wooden Horse. Eventually, Aeneas heeded the warning and fled Troy which, supposedly, led to the founding of Rome.

There were several roped off rooms that seemed to just be rows of stored artwork, fantastic artwork  each of which could have been the centrepiece of a small museum elsewhere.

Two of these caskets are on display  They were for a prominent Roman woman and her daughter.

There is a whole separate Egyptian museum inside the Vatican, with many fascinating treasures.

Cats, of course, some statues some mummies.  (More to come from the British Museum - cats, mummies, Greek and Roman artefacts.  Between these two museums, I wonder how much was left in Greece and Egypt.)

There were many Assyrian artifacts. (More coming from the British Museum. )

It seemed like all the halls were gilded and mosaiced to the gills and there were lots more people than this as we wound our way down the designated path through the museums.

This lady would have had a job finding a bra for all of those.

The floors fascinated me (like my penchant for doors, I guess).  But, think of how many people must walk through these museums every single day.  They are walking on gorgeous, ancient, priceless mosaics and only a few are protected like this.

You could see this parking lot through one of the barred windows as we walked.  It tickled me because  it was intended as a lovely piazza, with that beautiful fountain.  But, look at all the cars.  Romans make do and are pragmatic.

Yes, we saw the Sistine Chapel and I took photos (lots of photos) until Steve told me there was a sign that said not to.  I asked before we started and they told me photos are okay, but no flash.  So, these are just for you. Shhh!

Yes, there is at least one library at the Vatican Museums.  The rest are probably much more private.  Besides, you can't trust Donnie with a camera.

The spiral staircase exit from the Vatican Museums, after being herded through the shop, of course.

The skyline ceiling above the spiral staircase.

As night was falling, we visited one more place that really impressed me - the Pantheon; even with intermittent rain, the Pantheon was very beautiful and the square in front of it was wonderful to watch from a little cafe table.

This the side of the Pantheon.  The structure is actually round, with that flat columned entrance.

I loved the men dressed as Roman tribunes standing out in front.  I think they were there to take photos with, for a price.

The oculus as the sun was setting.

This is the Nativity Scene inside the Pantheon.  Without Photoshop, I couldn't make it lighter and the flash didn't work for some reason.

Steve in the centre of the Pantheon.

It was cold and drizzling a little, but it was wonderful to just sit and drink our $6 cokes and watch the milling crowd and the mini dramas as they unfolded.