All Aboard!!!

The day following our adventure in Florence, we took off for Civitavecchia, the port nearest Rome.  

We arrived early, prior to the time to board, which meant there were no lines!!!  

We boarded in a manner of minutes and began exploring the ship...

We found one of our favorite meeting spots that first night!!!

Wandering through the streets of Florence...

What can I say????  Florence is absolutely charming....

Where'd they all go???

One of the most interesting and fun sights in Florence is the Ponte Vecchio...the medieval bridge over the Arno River.   What's unusual about this bridge is that along the length of the bridge there are shops and apartments.  According to Wikepedia, the original shops along the bridge were butcher shops.

 Jewelry shops, art dealers and souvenir vendors make up the shops on the bridge today.

Now...being the avid photographer that I am...and being the one who has to get the more unusual shot...I walked over to the edge of the river, just a few feet from the tour group.  

Now...this was a nice shot, but really not my style...so I moved a little closer to the bridge...

Ok...so this was better, but still not quite right...so I moved a little closer....

Awwww...this is the one I wanted!!!  

Ooops!!!  Where'd the group go???  I walked to the bridge, crossed over and back, walked around the bridge entrance...oh well...it's a good thing the guide gave us a meeting spot and time...guess I'll have to meet them there...

Little did I know that the Hubman was getting a bit frantic...he was trying to stay with the group, while at the same time, trying to find me...

Fortunately for all, I found the Hubman and the group, and all was well again...

On to Florence...one of my favorite cities in the world...

Our fist stop in Florence was the Piazzale Michelangelo for a panoramic view of the city...

And a preview of the magnificent statue of David, by Michaelangelo...

From the piazzale, we went down into the historic part of the city...

                          

A little sidewalk Bistro...

                                          

A fabulous street light...

                                          

Musicians playing for the late afternoon lunch crowd...

                                          

And isn't he delightful???  He posed, but I didn't get a chance to chat with him...so I guess he doesn't qualify for Stranger #1!!!

Time Out to Remember...

A contemplative moment to remember those that were lost in the tragedy of 9/11  2001.

The Vatican...

If you ever go to Rome, a must-see is the Vatican.  St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel to be exact.  Our hotel, the Atlante Star, was within walking distance.  As a matter of fact, we could see the Vatican from the dining room where we had our delightful breakfasts, and an elegant, delicious, (and expensive) dinner!!!   All around the Vatican are "hawkers" trying to get you to buy one of their tours.  When we found out that you bypassed the long lines trailing alongside the wall of the Vatican, we decided to spend the extra for a private group tour.  We really lucked out...our tour guide was fabulous!  Excellent English and an artist in her own right...she also was mindful of the heat and crowds when and where she grouped us so that she could give us her spiel.

We started out in the Vatican museum...

You have to keep your eyes peeled, look up, look down, look all around...because every inch of space is fascinating and oh, so beautiful...

The blue tile in the floor is done with Lapis Lazuli...very hard to come by in the days that this was built.  It was considered royal...

On the way to the Sistene Chapel...but alas, no cameras allowed in the Chapel...no talking either...funny thing though, we were about the only ones who felt it appropriate to show respect for their rules...

This again is another example of my thinking that the closer to off season you travel to Rome the better.  It was incredibly crowded in the museum and the Chapel...literally wall to wall people.  Never the less, it should be on everyone's bucket list...it's a must!!!

The Ultimate in Roman Antiquities...the Coliseum...

We opted for a guided tour through the Coliseum...got to pass the line and go straight in...a definite bang for our buck!!!

Our tour guide was great...but darned if I remember what the significance of this window was!!!

Just above the walkway, where you see the arches and sloping walls, is actually the gallery of seats where the vestal virgins sat and cheered on the gladiators of their choice...

(Now, that I do remember!!!)

Under the floor of the coliseum were halls and rooms where the animals were kept...

They would also stage ship battles in the floor of the Coliseum by flooding the main floor...

Gladiators, of course, were the main source of entertainment...with a thumbs up, thumbs down vote to decide if they're fighting to the death...