July 5th- A nun and a mini car in one of the many Tuscan hill towns we walked through. We parked outside of the city walls (a much better plan than Corsica!)
Tuscan countryside.
Cortona at sunset.
Sunflowers! Still in bloom thanks to a wet winter and a delayed planting season.
Tuscany- vineyards and olive trees...
The sun setting near Cortona.
Our Bed & Breakfast was amazing, situated on top of a hill and surrounded by sunflowers, olive trees, vineyards and even a few fruit trees...
but the pool with a 360 degree view of the countryside was my favorite part.
July 7th- Rome! A bridge over the Tiber with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background.
Sitting on a fountain our first evening in Rome.
A view from inside the Vatican museum. The crowd on the right is looking at posters of the Sistine Chapel. After finally reaching the chapel, I heard one tourist express surprise to find the paintings were on the ceiling...
The Vatican museum is huge. Just before the Sistine Chapel are a few Raphael rooms including the School of Athens.
Michaelangelo's Pieta inside St. Peter's Basilica, created in his early 20's.
A large cherub in St. Peter's. His head is at least a foot in diameter.
The dome of St. Peter's Basilica designed by Michaelangelo. The dome is much taller (at 450 ft.), but three feet narrower than the dome of the Pantheon.
Cindy on the way up the 537 steps of the dome of the Vatican. There were some sections that were quite narrow and rubbed our shoulders on both sides.
A view from the top of the Vatican. The Pantheon is visible beyond the Tiber.
Sarah and Cindy at the top of the Vatican.
Our hotel (a convent) is visible on the right, the cream building between two pinkish buildings. It was less than two blocks from St. Peter's Square.
Pigeons on a fountain in Piazza Navona.
cat
dog
The Pantheon's amazing dome. Built in 27 BC and reconstructed in the 2nd century, it's the only of ancient Rome's buildings that remain intact. At 142 ft. tall and wide, it was also the largest in Europe until Brunelleschi built the dome in Florence 1200 years later.
The Trevi fountain built in 1762. The fountains in Rome are supplied by water from the aqueduct.
The Tiber by night- looking towards Vatican City.