When in Rome...

On Sunday, April 3, Kevin and I flew to Rome. We left Colorado Springs around noon, had a quick layover in LAX, and then flew 11 hours to ROMA! We arrived in Rome around 12:30 on Monday and went right to the hotel. We slept for about 4 hours and then rode the bus into the city. We walked over to Piazza Navona and to our surprise the Fountain of Four Rivers was finally in full view! Every time we had gone to see this fountain before this trip, it was under some kind of renovation, so we were ecstatic to see the whole thing! This fountain is featured in "Angels and Demons" as the element of water, and is where the 4th murder takes place. It is just one more incredible sculpture in Rome. We took a few photos, and then walked over to the Pantheon. We decided to have dinner near the Pantheon and then we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. I am slightly superstitious and was worried if we didn't go to the fountain and toss in a coin, that we would not return to Rome; therefore, we went to the fountain! We people watched for a little while and then started walking back to the bus stop. We took a few photos of Castle St. Angelo before boarding the bus back to the hotel.

The Fountain of Four Rivers

Spaghetti Carbonara - delicious!

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Better view of the beautiful fountain!

Pinocchio!

Castle St. Angelo - Te Castle of Angles, also featured in Angels and Demons

Tuesday was the day we went to the ship. Because Rome is landlocked, the ship actually docks in a city called Chivitavechia, which is about an hour north of Rome. We took the train to Chivitavechia and arrived at the ship around 10:45am. We had a hard time getting on the ship because the people shore side did not have the correct boarding list. There was also a new sport supervisor signing on to the ship that day, so once we got on the ship, we had to wait for someone to bring us the correct keys. By the time all was said and done, we were on our way back to the city around 3pm. That evening we walked over to the Coliseum and had dinner near the famous landmark. We spent some time taking pictures, and then walked over to St. Peter's Square. Unfortunately, by the time we got to St. Peter's it was closed to the public because they were setting up for the Papal Audience the following morning. We still got a few pictures though! We got back to the hotel around 11pm and crashed!

While we were waiting for our train back to Rome, we found this beer that was 12% alcohol....

....so we both had one! It was pretty potent!

I know we are a little yellow, but I LOVE this picture!

This building always takes my breath away!

Piazza Venezia 

We, well I, had to stop for some gelato on our way to St. Peter's. YUM!

St. Peter's Square....better (daytime) photos later in post. 

Our flight from Rome to Dubai did not leave until 3:30pm on Wednesday, so Kevin and I went to see The Pope at the Papal Audience that morning. We took the hotel shuttle to St. Peter's and were in the perfect viewing spot by 10:00am. Pope Benedict XVI came our in his Pope Mobile at 10:30 and we stayed for about 15 minutes of his "sermon". We went back to the hotel, packed, and went to the airport. We flew direct from Rome to Dubai and had a row of three seats to ourselves (always a nice luxury)!

Much better photo! There were so many people there!

The Cardinals waiting patiently for the Pope's arrival.

There he is! We were so close this time (we have seen this Pope 2 other times).

I LOVE this photo! Such a great representation of the experience. 

Pope Benedict XVI with the Cardinals and members of the Swiss Guard. Very neat to see!