Roman baths, bus trip around the city, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, an evening walk and fantastic dinner!
We had stayed outside the city, so drove in to find a parking spot using the Coliseum as our point place. We found an excellent spot on a side street maybe a 4 block walk….to our destination, and found ourselves in front of ROMAN baths….not even on our “tour” list! It was a fantastic “find”…….
The Roman Emperor Caracalla built baths for the public on a grand scale. It was built between A.D. 212 and 216 , covered about 13 acres and could probably accommodate 1,600 bathers.
The baths included:
- a hot bath
- a warm bath
- the cold bath
- a swimming pool
Inside the baths were libraries, art galleries, and gardens.
We found ourselves in awe as we walked our way through taking in the massive accomplishments of so very very long ago.
Cameras are not allowed in the Sistine Chapel. With great passion, our guide shared with us her knowledge, of what to anticipate seeing, once we entered the chapel.
In 1473, Pope Sixtus IV ordered the architect Giovanni dei Dolci to build him a chapel.The building was finished in 1481.
The Sistine Chapel is still being used by the Pope, mostly for official ceremonies. After the death of a pope, Roman Catholic cardinals from all over the world gather in the chapel to elect a successor. Today, the building is part of the Vatican Museums.
At the days end we were ready for some REAL ITALIEN food. We were not disappointed. Caffe Martini Rossi offered us a view of the Coliseum as we ate homemade pasta, and drank our red wine.
Salute!
The friendly staff, made sure we had a good time! I was served a flaming strawberry topping on my vanilla ice cream!
So much fun and so much more to experience.
1 comments:
Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience. We took our grand daughter to Italy whe she was 10 and it was a memorable experience for all of us. 5years later she still remembers it quite well. Your pictures are just great! Adele
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