Only a year overdue on this post, yikes! Abigail told me I had to get it done before spring break and she's right so here I am, but unfortunately the photos loaded in reverse order and my patience for fixing them didn't last too long, so...most of this day will be backwards.
I started off the day with a solo run through Rome. Starting at the Colesseum since it was right down the street from our Airbnb!
And then past the Forum (top of the post) and to the Spanish Steps.
Then up one of the seven hills of Rome to the Villa Borghese and its gardens.
Can't get enough of these sculptural trees! And I loved the little temple perched on the edge of the lake.
It was so nice running through the gardens after the bustle and crowds of the rest of Rome!
Then past Bernini's Fountain of the Bees...
And through the Aurelian Walls via the Portia Pinciana.
And then back to enjoy some collagen and protein powder in my apricot juice, haha.
Okay now we are jumping ahead to the evening...we went to see the Bernini sculptures at the Villa Borghese, which Neil has wanted to see for more than two decades since he learned about them at BYU. They were every bit as breath-taking as he had hoped they would be and I loved watching his complete and utter joy at seeing something he has dreamed about for so long.
Such incredible skill to bring veins and tendons and muscle out of a block of marble.
Here's a few angles of David winding up his sling to launch a rock at Goliath.
And Daphne running from Apollo as she begins to change into a tree. This one was particularly breath-taking because the marble was so thin you could see the light through the folds of Apollo's cloak.
And the way her fingertips are turning to leaves!
And here is Persephone being carried away by Hades.
The thing I find most awe-inspiring about this one is the way her thigh dimples around his fingers. MARBLE. Absolutely insane.
Before going to the Villa Borghese we made a tour of a whole bunch of churches to see specific pieces of art, like this one of St. Teresa by Bernini.
A few other highlights--the chains of St. Peter:
And Michelangelo's Moses.
And before that, we spent a few hours at the Colesseum! Hopefully by the time you're reading this the ticketing situation won't be such a nightmare, but man, it was so stressful! I managed to get tickets for the Attic, which is what I really wanted since you get to go to the very tip-top and they only let 8 people go up every hour, so it was so serene and peaceful and it was a MADHOUSE down below in the main area of the Colesseum.
Did you know that wild parakeets live all over Rome?!
Such a great view from the Attico level.
Cute Jules!
Also a pretty great view of part of the Forum.
Graffiti from a visitor in 1854.
It was also very nice and cool up in the tunnels running underneath the blocks of seats.
And then back to the crazy.
And before the Colesseum, we spent most of the morning at the Capitoline Museum which was pretty cool and also had an outstanding view of the Forum.
Using Juliet and Neil for scale to show how massive these sculptures are!
Another Bernini!
Can't remember anything about this one other than I thought Luke would find it hilarious.
I think at this point in the trip my bloodstream was half Diet Coke.
And speaking of massive statues...
Can you believe that this beautifully preserved statue is from the 3rd century B.C.?
Remus and Romulus
And another view of the Forum from the Capitoline Hill.
And last but not least, the best gelato and the best pizza I've ever had in my life. It was a 1-2 hit wonder because these places are literally steps from each other!
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