I hope you’ve enjoyed these past couple of weeks “traveling” through Italy. Today will complete Italy, and we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled program of Japan tomorrow (unless I’m snowed in somewhere).

The above photograph is of the Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome. Although “only” a hundred years old or so, it has a somewhat classical feel to it. Apparently some very ancient sites were destroyed in the building of it, though, which is unfortunate. The views from the top are supposed to be great, but we didn’t go inside, let alone up to the roof.

Our final picture of Italy will be this rather humorous one of Moses with horns. One of the many translation errors in the Bible once had Moses with horns coming out of his head, rather than rays of light or shiny skin, in Exodus 34:29. So you see several paintings and sculptures (some by Michaelangelo) of Moses with horns while walking the streets or browsing the art galleries in Italy.

Posted on December 29th, 2008 under Other. Tags: italy, pictures. Comments: None

When I turned the corner where the above picture was taken I had no idea I was about to see the Pantheon. What an amazing surprise it was to be walking around the streets of Rome and stumble on this scene.

The ruins of the Roman Forum are a must see while in Rome. I was fascinated to walk through it and feel the history.

From the vantage point in the above photograph you can also see the Coliseum (background, slightly left of center), a place I pictured in my imagination to be off by itself. Instead there is vehicle traffic buzzing around it constantly. The Coliseum was a bit of a disappointment in that regard but still incredible to tour on the inside.

Posted on December 28th, 2008 under Other. Tags: italy, night photography, pictures. Comments: None

I’m not sure if this is the same every day, but on the day we visited St. Peter’s there were tons of people lined up in the morning to enter. Once we got in we could barely move and it wasn’t all that enjoyable.

After St. Peter’s we went into the Vatican Museum (which was also extremely crowded). In late afternoon, after coming out of the Vatican, we noticed that there was no line for St. Peter’s so we walked back in. The difference was striking. Not only was the place relatively empty but the afternoon sun was streaming in making the place far more beautiful.

This is the main dome. It is hard to capture just how huge it is in a picture. Imagine a person floating up there. Well, you’d barely be able to see them. That’s how big it is.

Here we see a couple of Swiss Pikemen guarding the Vatican doors. These are real guards, not just props for the tourists to take photographs of. I think their official title is something like Papal Swiss Guards. If you have played Age of Empires II or III you know a pikeman can easily be taken out with a few crossbowmen.

Posted on December 27th, 2008 under Other. Tags: italy, pictures. Comments: None

On a summer morning at St. Peter’s the only picture you can take without masses of people in it is the above one with your camera pointed upwards.

From some windows in the Vatican Museum you can look out to the Vatican Gardens. This photograph captures a piece of the gardens and the exterior of St. Peter’s Dome, which is actually quite difficult to see from the front of St. Peter’s unless you back way up.

Posted on December 26th, 2008 under Other. Tags: italy, pictures. Comments: None