Rome - Deux

Slept in this morning.  Didn't get up until 7:00am.  Pulled together the pictures and comments for Day 1 and filed them away.  I have to prepare them off-line.  My one complaint about this hotel is their predatory internet pricing.  I have to believe they just don't want much to do with it.  They only have wireless in the lobby and for the privilege of hauling your computer downstairs they hit you for 5€ for thiry (30) minutes.  For crying out loud,I just wanted to use it; I didn't want to buy it.


Anyway...up and off.  To Vatican City

Beneath the columns

Statue on the right

Statue on the left

I don't know about you, but, to me, that sure looks a lot like a Corona in his right hand.










This got my attention.  These are the two clocks at the corners of St. Peters, taken no more than thirty seconds apart.

The one on the left

The one on the right

Sort of fits, huh?...leaning towards the past (at least in this case it's one that actually existed.)

But it does bring up the musical question: "Does anyone really know what time it is, does anyone really care."  (Okay about 95% of you should know the group and name of the song with that lyric.)

Another nice fountain, in St. Peter's Square.  But,
that fat guy is back.

I would have loved to see the Sistine Chapel, and Michelangelo's David, but check these out.
Walking into St. Peter's Square looking right toward the church.  That is the line to get in.

But...we're not through.  Looking to the left,  this is the same line.



There were "tour" operators outside promising that for 45€ they would take us inside on a 2 1/2 hour tour and we would miss the line.  I suspect that's true, but they seemed too shady for me, scrouging around furtively talking to every one:  "Hey, have I got a deal for you."  I asked a young man with the church if they had any official standing and he said, "No."  So, I wasn't going to hang around for yet another hour to pay 45€ to save 1 1/2 hour.  I'm an ex-G.I.; we've stood in all the lines we want to.  Don't get me wrong.  I would definitely stand in line for two and one-half hour to talk to Jesus.  But to see an inanimate object?  Nah.  Ain't gonna happen.

Leaving St. Peter's I went back to the hotel, rested up, and took off again.

Excavations on the Via dei Fori Imperiali near the Colosseum.

Boy...as they say in LA (lower Alabama) this place is ruint!

Leaving up Fori Imperiali toward Piazza Venezia

Augustus

Below, the controversial Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of a unified Italy.  I don't know about you, but I find that kind of an interesting viewpoint.  Seems the Roman Empire pretty much unified Italy (and a heck of a lot of the known world) for about 800 years or so.

A lot of the controversy over this thing is about what I like about it.  It's large, beautiful white marble, filled with magnificent statuary, all impressively done.  However, as stated, I think Italy "got together" before Vittorio managed it.
 

Rome about 800 BC.

The beginnings of empire.  About 146 BC
Caesar (100BC - 44 BC)

 The Empire ~ 14 AD
 (Shortly before the birth of Jesus)

 At zenith - 117 BC








Appears to me as if Italy, at least as we geographically know it, was pretty well unified about two thousand years before Vittorio Emanuele II came along.

A little further up the road, yet another obelisk celebrating a major victory.

 Check the detail here.  You can see the troops massing and fighting in battle.  Pretty neat stuff.

 This one was in celebration of Caesar's victory over Eqypt












 Later I returned to the Piazza Navona.

I had a great Corona with a bowl of olives looking out at one of the fountains.
I expect the overhead for such a location is frightful...but $15 for a Corona and a bowl of olives???  Robbery on someone's part.  But the beer was excellent.  And the ambiance sublime.

Discovered this beautiful hotel just off the Piazza.  Next trip to Roma, I think I'll check this one out.









Just as in France, you can leave the main streets and find yourself in another world entirely.

A short walk later and I'm near the hotel.

A nice condominium just down the street from the hotel.  Wonder what these babies go for?




Okay...if you were paying attention earlier you'll have noticed that I had some shots taken "near the Colosseum."   So the natural question is, "Where's the pictures of the Colosseum?" And the answer is, beats the heck outta me.  I took them.  Probably eight or nine, including some of the surrounding grounds.  One was a great picture of two newly-wed couples up on the hill overlooking the Colosseum...the possibilities for wise cracks obviously huge.  But, when I got back to the hotel they were gone.  Pictures from before and after were there, but these were gone.  I have no idea what happened other than there is a feature on my big camera where I can display nine pictures on the display screen and I remember using it while there.  I must have hit a series of buttons which said "delete these," but I don't know how.  But, as my accounting friends say, it's sunk cost now...I don't have them.  What to do?  Answer, obviously, go back in the morning.