Leaving Paris

At the Charles de Gaulle airport. Very modern and huge! Three days was not enough time to see everything.
Arrived in Rome (finally)

It took most of the day to get to our hotel rooms. The drive was long to the Paris airport, it took an hour and a half from touch down in Rome to when we got our bags, our hotel was over an hour awayEn savoir plus
Vatican Museum

This is the start of a very long, but incredible day. These pics are outside of the Vatican Museum.
Vatican Museum

As with the Louvre, the artwork is so beautiful and there is so much of it it's overwhelming. I took so many pictures that it would take forever to post them all here. It's hard to select just a few.En savoir plus
Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel absolutely took our breath away! The beauty of it was beyond words. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, but I did get a couple from the doorway right before weEn savoir plus
St. Peter's Basilica

Beautiful church inside and out!
St. Peter's Basilica

More beauty...
St. Peter's Square

This is where the Pope addresses the crowds. There is a big gathering they're getting ready for, sp there are thousands of folding chairs set up. The area is huge!
Colosseum

This was quite an architectural wonder! The manpower it must have taken to build these structures centuries ago is hard to imagine.
Colosseum

Our tour guide for the day was wonderful, but her Italian accent and mispronunciation of some English words made understanding her sometimes a challenge. We followed her green scarf through the crowdsEn savoir plus
Colosseum

Great views from the upper level. There used to be a wooden floor covering the area you see today - which is where the animals they fought were kept. They covered the floor with sand to soak up theEn savoir plus
Arch of Titus

This arch was built in 70 A.D. After the Romans defeated the Israelites and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. They brought 50,000 Israelites back to Rome as slaves and made them build this arch andEn savoir plus
The Roman Forum

Lots of stone remnants of the ancient heart of Rome where laws were passed and other important Roman activities occurred.
Basilica of Saint Paul

One of the most significant and powerful visits of our trip. It was the Bible coming alive. This church contains the tomb of St. Paul.
Basilica of Saint Paul

The inside of this church was spectacular!
Tomb of Saint Paul

This is St. Paul's tomb. The chain is the one used on him in the Roman prison. Amazing!
Romantic evening

We had a wonderful, relaxing evening. Suzanne shopped for beautiful scarves in an open air market on a piazza. Then some wine, bread and cheese at a street cafe, followed by dessert and coffee at aEn savoir plus
Chiesa di S. Ignasio di Loyola

We walked into this random church on a dise street. It wasn't listed in our guidebook or any tour map. What a spectacular church. I can't imagine how many other churches are like this throughout RomeEn savoir plus
Morning run in Rome

A perfect morning for a run. 3.8 miles along the Tiber River and through the city.
Walking tour around Rome

We took a leisurely walk around Rome seeing random sights and neighborhoods. Had a very relaxing lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Here are various things we saw.
Walking tour around Rome

More random sights on our walk.
The Pantheon

Roman building whose dome inspired many famous buildings, including the U.S. Capitol. The couple were pickpockets. He would steal and then seemed to drop things in her bag.
Leaving Rome

At Termini train station leaving Rome. Next stop - Venice!
A Venice boat ride to the hotel

What a unique place! We enjoyed a boat ride from the train station to our hotel on the Grand Canal. We actually stepped from the boat directly into the hotel.
Afternoon stroll around Venice

After we checked in to our room, we then just strolled around down narrow streets, over bridges, and through St. Mark's Square.