Rome: The Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Parthenon + Castel Gandolfo

 ROME:  THE SPANISH STEPS, THE TREVI FOUNTAIN, AND THE PARTHENON       PLUS CASTEL GANDOLFO

Following breakfast in the hotel restaurant we put on our most comfortable walking shoes and set out with our Italian guide for Rome. Within a half mile we had reached the Piazza di Spagna, including the church of Trinita dei Monti (built in 1586), the Spanish Steps, and the Fontana della Barcaccia (built in 1627-9 by Bernini and his son). Even though we had set out around 9:00, the crowds had beaten us there.  It was worth working around and through the throng; it felt like holy ground. The flowers (apparently azaleas) on the steps were brilliant.  An impressive start to our tour of Rome!

We then walked several blocks to the Trevi Fountain, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome. It has appeared in at least 3 movies, one of which inspired the Sinatra song "Three Coins in the Fountain." Predictably there were throngs of people packed around it, and it took some time to work our way near enough to the fountain to be able to toss our coins into it.

Next on our tour of "Rome's Greatest Hits" was the Pantheon, which is simply awesome.  It was originally a Roman temple (built between 27 BC - 14 AD and later rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD)  that became a Catholic church in 609 AD. The architecture of the rotunda and its dome is incredible, with both a height and diameter of the rotunda of 43 meters (150 Roman feet or 142'). The dome weighs over 4,500 tons, which raises (to me at least) the question of how it was built and/or placed on top of the walls. Ancient aliens? The oculus allows the rotunda to be well lit but obviously allows in the elements as well.  Rather than trying to describe it further, I'll let the pictures tell the story:

Our tour group then worked our way across the Piazza Navona to the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of 4 Rivers), built in 1651 by Bernini to honor the great river in each of the 4 continents known to Christians of the day.   

After spending some time there and having worked up an appetite from walking, we were ready to take advantage of our reservations at the Tre Scalini Restaurant for lunch.  As always in Italy, the meal furnished both quantity and quality.

Following lunch Susan decided to take advantage of the free time to give her back a rest and to do a little shopping.  I boarded a bus with our group to drive into the hills about 30 miles outside of town to Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's gardens and originally the summer home of the pontiff. The Vatican has owned the property, which was developed in the 13th Century, since 1596.  Seven years ago Pope Francis announced that he would not monopolize the summer residence, but instead would make it available to the public for paid escorted tours.  Our group took a private bus tour of the gardens, which to no one's surprise were enormous and magnificent. We had spent the morning awed by the ancient buildings in Rome; this afternoon we were astonished by the beauty of the gardens. Again, I'll let the photos speak for themselves:

We returned to the Aleph in time to rest and make ourselves presentable for our farewell dinner.  (This event was originally scheduled for tomorrow night, our last in Italy, but a change in schedule at the Vatican required our private tour of the Sistine Chapel to be rescheduled from last night to tomorrow night.) After getting cleaned up, Susan and I joined some of our Tauck friends on the rooftop bar and enjoyed a full moon over the Eternal City.  The group then had a delicious farewell meal at a private dining room in the Aleph.  

Tomorrow would be another full day of sightseeing, our last of the tour.