Thursday Night with the Group

We had a late afternoon snack with John & Jan and Greg & Kelly at the Bar Teatro Cafè. Later we headed to a place called "Taverna Dei Quarenta", a place recommended by our hotel people, for the first of many excellent dinners together. This was the only time we changed our plans because of the weather. We had planned on heading up the the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain area but chose to stay closer to the hotel due to the rain. Skip & Josie took a cab from their hotel near the Borghese and met the rest of us for cocktails in Greg & Kelly's room.

Later, we ended up at the Shamrock Irish Pub, drinking Guinness and playing darts, exactly what I thought I'd be doing my second night in Rome.

Friday, September 28, Rome

We had our second tour with Angel Tours, this time at the Vatican. We bypassed huge lines and marched in to the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica. The experience is somewhat overwhelming. There is just too much to try to absorb, too much great artwork to wrap your arms around during a three-hour tour.

We arrived a little early and dodged a couple rain showers. As we were waiting for the rest of our group to show up, a double rainbow appeared that seemed to end right on St Peter's Dome.

Our tour guide and some of our group, a couple statues by some famous guys.

Nero's bathtub made of $40,000/square foot red marble which, today, only Bill Gates can afford. The Pieta and Pope John 23rd. We saw works by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, da Vinci, Raphael, Fra Angelico, Giotto, and many others.

Friday Night

Drinks at Harry's Bar, dinner at a great restaurant called "Il Pomodorino" capped by a stroll to Trevi Fountain made for a great end to our final day in Roma.