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| Portraits of the popes adorn the walls above the arches |
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| Huge beautiful alabaster windows |
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| Room only for six more popes... |
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| After Francis |
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| The giant Pantokrator mosaic |
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| Starboard altar |
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| Ceiling in the transepts |
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| Beautiful marquetry |
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| Looking astern from abaft the beam |
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| Starboard aisle |
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| Most helpful model ever, so far |
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| You can walk through it |
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| We tarried and then stayed for an organ recital by a young Vietnamese sister; a nice finish to Rome for 2017 |
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| We went to the Sistine Chapel twice and thus passed through the Rafael (and Borgia) rooms twice; above, Rafael's School of Athens |
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| Parthian shot of the Sistine Chapel; we went there twice, mostly to look at the Botticellis |
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| Thus, his Temptations of Christ; I am so over Mr. Twisty... |
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| Worst museum meal ever, so far: if you reserve a "traditional Italian luncheon" at the restaurant, you can get early admission to the museum plus no standing in lines outside; it's probably worth it, but don't expect a great repast, much less something identifiably Italian |
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| Decapitated putti |
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| Important learning experience: we had never seen a late Medieval/ International Gothic painting with someone wearing spectacles; this side-bar item was dated 1495; very suspicious...since I'd always associated glasses with Kepler and maybe the 17th century; but NO, glasses were invented in Pisa at the end of the 13th century and were in production there, for export, not much later |
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| Can't resist re-posting my favorite Matthew... Guido Reni's |
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| "Someone help me get out of here!" |
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| Eyesore across the River |
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| "You want a toe?" |
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| "I can get you a toe, believe me, there are ways, Dude" |
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| "Pick a card, any card..." |
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| Extreme star fort in the map hall |
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| The very famous double helix staircase, designed in 1932 by Giuseppe Momo, but named for Bramante and his 16th century version |
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| Getting much better at selfies |
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| One advantage of getting lost is that your chances of wandering into a neighborhood restaurant, as opposed to a tourist one, are vastly improved; the one we wandered into even had a sense of humor |
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| We couldn't find the one we were looking for, all the directions we got misfired, and so, with the rain getting worse, we ducked into La Monte Carlo; I've become quite fond of the Napoli, tomato, cheese and anchovies |
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| Vicki's standard sausage and mushroom; Neapolitan style, very thin crust; yum |
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| Also a fun place |
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| Wandering in the rain |
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| Piazza Navona |
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| Wait a second! Isn't that Aunt Jemima? |
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| Poster in a bookstore: apart from the US, Rome has the most anemic of all subway systems for a city its size--two lines, a third to open a bit in December--understandably, digging in this, one of history's greatest cities, is slow going... |
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| Bookish fountain |
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| Backside of Pantheon, where, at the top, you can see a bit of the brick (!) structure; the arches |
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| Never fails to knock me out |
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| Moving right along, in the direction of the Metro: Marcus Aurelius Column (I think), in Piazza Colonna (I think) |
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| No room for a real IKEA in downtown Rome, so it's just a kitchen IKEA |
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| Slippery Spanish Steps |
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| Among the best of all cities to wander in... |
