Welcome Home ...& "Arrivederci"!

Wow!  Can you believe it's almost 2 weeks since we were enjoying the sights & sounds of Rome?!
Hopefully everyone recovered quickly from their jet-lag & has been enjoying a great summer.
I heard last week that we had more than one broken bone on our tour - as well as Andrew's unfortunate tumble in Siena it turns out Carol trekked all over Italy with a broken foot!

Henry & I want to thank you all for being such excellent travel companions.  We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves & hope that you all did too.
Best wishes & safe travels.

Rome - At Leisure & Ancient Rome (July 2nd)

This morning & much of the afternoon, our last day in Italy, were left entirely free for the group to enjoy at their leisure - some folks chose to sleep in, other to shop or to do more sightseeing.
In the mid-late afternoon we all rendezvoused at the Colosseum, perhaps the most spectacular sight in the city, to begin our in-depth tour of Ancient Rome with Stuart Harvey.

As well as seeing the sights our tour, as with any tour with Stuart, delved into the background - the history & even the bricks & mortar of Roman building techniques.

Outside the Colosseum we learned how the amphitheater got it's name (& no, it has nothing to do with it's size...).  Then we headed on to the nearby Forum, the very heart of Ancient Rome for centuries & the sight of countless events that shaped history.

Such as the very spot where Mark Anthony publicly mourned the slain Julius Ceasar...

At the end of our tour we passed a few other sights, such as the Vittoria Emmanuel monument (to Italy's first king), as we made our way to our restaurant for our farewell group dinner.

Dinner at Pietro al Pantheon was the perfect way to end our tour - an excellent meal with friendly service in a unique venue in the very heart of Rome.

Afterwards there was time for a short walk, with a gelato stop along the way of course, to the Trevi Fountain, before it was time to retire before our early starts tomorrow morning.

Rome - The Centro Storico & Vatican (July 1st)

Due to the usually-scheduled Papal Audience on Wednesday mornings this morning had originally been left free so those who wished could join the crowds of pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square.
Due to the Pope's travel pans & the excessive heat however this weeks' audience was cancelled so we instead enjoyed a relaxed walk through the Centro Storico - Rome's historic city center.

After a casual walk we then had to survive the over-crowded buses but made it successfully to our first stoop, Campo de' Fiori - 'Field of Flowers' - one of Rome's most popular & bustling squares, always busy on a weekday morning with its' market & cafes.

From Campo de' Fiori it was just a short walk to nearby Piazza Navona - a much grander 'square', formerly a Roman hippodrome, complete with the spectacular Bernini 'Fountain of the Four Rivers'.

After free time at the Pantheon or sightseeing & lunch, we regrouped & rode the bus to the Vatican for our afternoon tour - the Vatican Museum & Saint Peter's.
Our guide for the Vatican was the superb Stuart Harvey.  Stuart masterfully negotiated the bureaucracy & the crowds, entertaining us, educating & enthralling us with information on art, history, the church, & more.

This evening, after time to freshen-up at our hotel, we rode the metro to Piazza Barberini, for dinner at the fun Giardini d'Albino - Albino's Gardens.  

As well as a seemingly unending array of foods we were also serenaded by the house singer with Italian songs & even John Denver!  Lots of fun & the ideal venue for our two birthday girls.

From Albino's it was just a short walk to the top of the Spanish Steps - an iconic nighttime sight of Rome & a chance for us to see another of the city's 13 Egyptian obelisks.