Rome & Surrounds
We arrived in Rome one day late due to a snowstorm in Montreal. The result was that we had to cram a few activities in on the arrival day and then a few more on our return. These are the pictures from both days.
The Spanish Steps - The Spanish Steps were about two blocks away from our hotel. John went up to the top and took pictures while Sharon and Mike walked around the bottom.
The Column of the Immaculate Conception is a nineteenth-century monument in central Rome depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in what is called Piazza Mignanelli, towards the south east extension of Piazza di Spagna.
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The Trevi Fountain - The Trevi Fountain was a little further away from our hotel but still a fairly short walk. It was our first taste of the massive number of tourists we encountered on this trip. We were told there will be a lot more people in the summertime. Hard to imagine.
This is the primary view of the Fountain, intentionally a little tight in the frame, to bypass seeing all of the tourists.
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The Colosseum - The Colosseum is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome that was constructed between 72 and 80 A.D. Built of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. We had purchased skip the line tickets and planned to do a throrough tour but that was to be on the day we lost coming over. As a result we only had the time to take a taxi from our hotel and walk around the perimeter.
This is the first view of the Colosseum that we had. The red bus gives a sense of the scale. We were looking down from the taxi drop.
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Tarquinia National Museum - Tarquinia is an old city in the province of Viterbo, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis or cemeteries which it overlies, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. This tour was arranged by Marilyn Price and took place on the day that the Jewel of the Seas arrived back in Rome. The following pictures were shot inside and around the Museum.
This the front of the Museum, a very old building housing the collection which consists primarily of the artifacts excavated from the Necropolis of Monterozzi to the east of the city.
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Monterozzi Necropolis - The Monterozzi Necropolis is an Etruscan necropolis on a hill east of Tarquinia. The necropolis has about 6,000 graves, the oldest of which dates to the 7th century BC. We visited here right after the Museum tour so were a little tired and didn't stay very long.
This is the view upon first entry into the necropolis. Two graves can be seen in the back left and one on the top right. There is a long stairway down to the burial chamber.
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Ceri - Ceri is a small town built on a fortified plateau on the outskirts of Rome. We stopped there for lunch.
We had no chance to take pictures on the way up to Ceri so I borrowed this shot, found with Google. There was a very interesting road that wound its way to the top.
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