Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Rick's Roadshow: Italy, Day 6- The Vatican in Rome

Here we are at day six of Rick's Roadshow from Rome, Italy. We spent a great deal of time at the Vatican. I've been there before, so during this visit I was able to spend more time seeing things I glossed over at the last visit. I took this photo of St. Peter's Square, looking straight on toward the Basilica, which is an enormous structure once you get inside. I didn't take any photos inside the Basilica, mainly because it is so overwhelming and difficult to get the sense of scale from my little camera. Since I did a series of posts on this blog about the Vatican museum last September/October I won't duplicate any of that. Instead, here are a few other images from the Vatican:

above: a commanding statue of St Peter. Note the cool clock on the roof at top right.

above: I have a thing for water fountains...

above: The Swiss Guards, in service to the Pope
Some Fabulous Ceilings at the Vatican Museum

what is there to say about these magnificent works of art?



Virtually every ceiling in the Vatican Museum is breath taking an truly amazing.
above: these are old precious rings worn from prior Popes. Two things struck me: the stones were huge, and the ring sizes were very large too.

above: the Tevere river, just outside of Vatican City. I crossed this bridge and took these photos below:

above: angels along the bridge crossing the Tevere River

above: The Romans are known for amazing aqueducts and an abundance of water. That water flows freely throughout the city, from major fountains, to drinking stations across the city.

above: The famous Spanish Steps are always a crowd pleaser.
above: This is one end of the water fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps. I like how the water flows from the mouth of the sun. Well the time has come for me to head back to Palm Springs. This was just a quick jaunt to Italy and it has come to an end. Tomorrow I'll probably post one more entry about Rome, so please come back.
-Signore Ricardo Rockhill

6 comments:

  1. You're bringing back some good memories, Rick. We went to the Spanish Steps about 10pm, and there were hundreds of people there.

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  2. Gorgeous! You're going to be sorry to leave.

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  3. Thanks for sharing your tip with us. Visiting the Vatican is on my list of things to do before I die.

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  4. I've been away on holiday myself.... but am back now and enjoying your trip!

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  5. You certainly got a lot in for a quick jaunt! :)

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  6. The sight of all that water is a bit overwhelming to we desert dwellers, isn't it?

    The rings' stones have to be big; faithful followers are supposed to kiss the ring when greeting The Holy See.

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Thank you kindly.