Rome, Italy

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Rome, Italy Destination Unknown
The Final Flight
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I’m almost to the top of the steps and ready to enter the church. This is such a beautiful place but this hobo sprawled out on the steps kind of distracts from it. I guess this sort of problem exists everywhere.Read more
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Rome, Italy Destination Unknown
Above Roma
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I’m always thankful that Kathy and I are able to travel and see such wonderful places. I know that there are lots of people who aren’t as lucky as we are and I’ll never forget how fortunate we are.
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Rome, Italy Destination Unknown
Trinità dei Monti
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
This is a nice little church but, I have to admit, after seeing pictures of some of the other cathedrals here in Rome, I'm a bit underwhelmed by Trinità dei Monti. There's nothing really wrong with this church, it's just that I went in expecting something much more fancy and ornate. This is the first church that we're seeing in Rome. Hopefully some of the other ones will be better.Read more
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Statuary
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I've seen pictures of this statue before, or one very similar to this one. I'm thinking that this is actually a very famous scene and it's been created many times. You can't tell from the picture but this statue is actually behind a heavy iron gate. A lot of this church appears to be locked behind gates. I don't really care for that. It gives the church a cold and unfriendly feeling.Read more
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The Power of Prayer
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I don't really go to church as often as I should, but when I do go I'll usually light a candle or two. As I understand it, when the candle is lit, it's in remembrance of a loved one who passed or when we're praying for someone who is sick. Either way, it acts as an anchor point for the person lighting it. It’s a comfort and gives a sense of unity with those around you. It doesn’t make God listen to you any better or faster though. You could also just as easily light the candle in your own home if you felt the need. It also doesn’t have to be in a church, just as you’re not limited to praying only in church.Read more
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Gates
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Looking around the church, it's easy to see all of those metal gates that I mentioned before. What sort of a church feels the need to wall itself off from it's visitors? I don't like this idea. It just seems very wrong to me.Read more
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Candles
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
These candles seem more colorful then the ones I've seen displayed in other churches. A little splash of color goes a long way in these mostly serious and somber places.
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Ready to Move On
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
We didn't spend a lot of time exploring this church, since so much of it was fenced off from people, but we did like what we saw. It's time to move on and see what else Rome has to offer.
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Bryan and I
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
It’s sort of uncommon for Bryan and I to be in a photo together and it’s even more of a rarity for us to be in Italy. I guess that makes this photo some sort of super rare treasure!
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Rome, Italy Destination Unknown
Spanish Steps
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
The Spanish steps were built in 1723-1725 by a design of the rather little known architect Francesco de Sanctis and were financed by French diplomat Étienne Gueffier. It was built in order to link the the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the king of France, with the Spanish square below. The long, triangular Spanish square is named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. In the 17th century, the area around the embassy was even considered Spanish territory. The idea of connecting the church with the square below originates from the 17th century, when the French also planned a statue of King Louis XIV of France at the top of the staircase. This plan was never executed, due to the refusal of the Pope.Read more
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Homeless
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
This is what we saw as we were going down the steps of the church. Apparently, homelessness is a problem in Rome also. You can't really see it in the picture but she has her stuff spread out over the steps and some of the items included open needles. This is really dangerous because someone could step on them, especially children, and get infected. I made sure to give this woman a wide berth. The last thing that I want to happen while on vacation is being stuck with an infected needle. I'm very surprised that the city allows that sort of thing. It's so dangerous!Read more
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A Look Back
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
It was much easier going down the Spanish Steps than it was going up. When I read about the steps in tour guides for Rome, they described a climb up the steps to be somewhat daunting but it was actually quite easy. I'm very glad that I went up to the top.Read more
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A Room with a View
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I wonder what it would be like to live in one of these apartments, right next to the Spanish Steps and Trinità dei Monti. The view must be amazing! I'm sure the residents probably get awfully tired of so many tourists wandering around in, what is essentially, their backyard.Read more
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Fontana della Barcaccia
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
The Fontana della Barcaccia "Fountain of the Boat") is a Baroque-style fountain found at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome's Piazza di Spagna. Pope Urban VIII commissioned Pietro Bernini in 1623 to build the fountain as part of a prior Papal project to erect a fountain in every major piazza in Rome. The fountain was completed between 1627 and 1629 by Pietro possibly along with the help of his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini, especially after his father's death in August 29, 1629.Read more
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Fontana della Barcaccia
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
The sculptural fountain is made into the shape of a half-sunken ship with water overflowing its sides into a small basin. The source of the water comes from the Acqua Vergine, an aqueduct from 19 BCE. Bernini built this fountain to be slightly below street level due to the low water pressure from the aqueduct. Water flows from seven points of fountain: the center baluster; two inside the boat from sun-shaped human faces; and four outside the boat.Read more
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Fontana della Barcaccia
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
According to legend, as the River Tiber flooded in 1598, water carried a small boat into the Piazza di Spagna. When the water receded, a boat was deposited in the center of the square, and it was this event that inspired Bernini's creation. The fountain is decorated with the papal coat of arms of the Barberini family as a reminder of Pope Urban VIII's ancestry.Read more
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Fontana della Barcaccia
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Some people say this fountain is an old boat. Some say it’s a leaky boat and some even say that it’s an ugly boat. No matter what people think, this is one of the more fun fountains in Rome.
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Cobblestone Streets
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
It's time to move on and see more of the tourist sights in Rome. With these cobblestone streets, walking isn't very easy or comfortable. A lot of the stones don't seem to be even or flat which explains the difficulty. I'm hoping that I get used to it soon.Read more
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Hanging Gardens of Roma
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
We're on our way to see Piazza Navona. I'm not sure how long it's going to take us to walk there but at least we'll be seeing a lot of Rome on the way there. These hanging plants really creeped Kathy out for some reason. I'm not surprised though. Even on the buildings back home, she hates that climbing ivy that some places have. For myself, I kinda like it.Read more
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The Newsstand
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Just like what we saw in Paris, these newsstands are all over Rome. They seem to be so much more than just a place to get a newspaper though. As we walked by, I noticed that they seem to sell such a large variety of things. Like the ones in Paris, these are more like tiny stores instead of just a newsstand.Read more
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Still Walking
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I'm wishing that the public transportation system in Rome was a bit more extensive but, so far, I'm not minding it too much. I'm happy to walk around and get a feel of what the city of Rome is like. Let's see how I feel about walking so much in a few more days. I'm hoping that my feet don't start hurting!Read more
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Narrow Streets
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
The concept of sidewalks don't seem to exist in Rome. There are just streets that people and cars share together. I'm not used to this idea and think that it's kind of dangerous. I'm going to be very careful while walking around in Rome.Read more
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Mickey Mouse?
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
This Mickey Mouse character looks so creepy to me! I'm very surprised that so many people, including children, are crowding around to see him. I'm guessing that the people here aren't used to seeing characters very often. We see this sort of thing in Times Square all the time. The costume is always recognizable as the character they are dressed up as but it's just not right. They come off looking more creepy and frightening to me. If I was a young child, characters looking like this one would have terrified me!Read more
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On the Wall
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
I'm not sure what all these pictures on the wall are supposed to be, but it definitely makes this narrow street a lot more interesting. Perhaps it's some sort of advertising? I'm kind of glad that we decided to walk to Piazza Navona. We're seeing a lot of Rome on the way there.Read more
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So Narrow!
November 9, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Here's another look at how narrow the streets of Rome are. The pedestrians and cars seem to share the same space, which seems very dangerous to me. I'm wondering how many incidents there are of people being hit by cars. I'll be walking as close to the side of the road as I can, especially at night!Read more
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