First you steal an obelisk

I realize that I may not accrue a great deal of sympathy, but this tourist stuff is hard work! I have been spoiled by having 2 weeks or a month to explore an area. One week in Rome puts us on the fast track of sightseeing.

This morning we got to the Vatican early. The line in front of us at security was 4 people. We wandered through St. Peter's, noting the marble that was missing from the Colosseum yesterday.

We took the elevator to the bottom of the dome for this shot and a closer look at the dome mosaics.

De Anne, sweet wife, offered to climb the 330 steps to the top of the dome solo. Silly me tagged along. The first leg was a narrow set of marble stairs. Half way up those steps a young woman was coming down, yelling "don't go up there! It's too hard!". Silly me kept going even though the young woman had confirmed my secret fear.

The narrow marble steps ended at a marble spiral staircase with a knotted rope hanging down for support. No hand rail had yet made an appearance. This lasted about four stories, until we hit another narrow staircase. This one was against the dome so we had slanted walls. It was so narrow I had to walk up sideways. My shoulders would not fit. That lasted a couple more stories. Finally we got to wide metal stairs for the last couple stories. 

Still some slant showing.

The reward at the top.

Note the obelisk, stolen by the Roman Empire from Egypt, and recycled later by the church. Put a cross on top and it is no longer a pagan object.

The trip down was slightly better, not having to hoist my massive bulk against gravity. On legs of jelly I regained terra firma and headed towards the bus stop determined to live long enough to see the apartment again and feel air conditioning. I did pause briefly to take this required picture of a Swiss guard.

After I cooled down, was fed lunch, and took a nap, I awoke to the sight of De Anne studying the guide book. We were going out for an early evening "Dolce Vita stroll".

Starting at the Piazza del Popolo the entrance to Rome before trains, planes, and automobiles. Note another obelisk from Egypt.

We moved down the Via del Corso, detouring to see Mausoleum of Agustus, then another detour to visit the Spanish Steps. Yes, another obelisk.

The Sinking Boat Fountain with the teeming hordes on the Spanish Steps.

Yet another detour to the Trevi Fountain. I added a penny ($0.013 in US currency) to the collection in the fountain.

Night was falling as we arrived at Capitoline Hill, crossed the ruins of the Roman Forum and arrived back at the Colosseum to catch the subway to Termini and the tram home.

De Anne studying the ruins.