Starting at the end.

Holly and I visited Rome on both ends of our trip to Italy – our first time in the country – and I have to admit, I sort of discounted the city at first blush.  I’d heard numerous people say that Rome is “just a big city”, and in some respects it is that, however there is a LOT going on there that’s worth seeing.  After having traveled around Italy for a good many days, I felt like I got Rome on our second visit.  Anyway, I have two sets of pictures I want to share from Rome; one will take more thought to articulate what I experienced there, and so I’m saving that till the end (I’ve just returned from several days in Paris, and managed to catch COVID somewhere along the way, so it’ll be a miracle if this makes sense at all).  The other thing I’ll point out is that I got a lot of pictures that I want to share, and so rather than camping out on Italy for the rest of the year, I’ll share images over the next several weeks from the various stops we made.  Italy was jaw-droppingly beautiful and I’ve found it really hard to narrow down the images!

Speaking of the images, let’s get to it.  Above is definitely one of my favorites from the trip.  This is inside the Saint Peters Basilica in the Vatican City.  This particular church is the one you’ll send in the background when the Pope is giving his speeches while in the city, and it is MASSIVE.  The architecture and artwork inside were stunning.  While we were there, I happened to notice light beams coming in from the windows at the base of the main dome and so tried several different compositions, with this one being my favorite.  In the immediate foreground you’ll see the top of the baldachin, the altar that sits directly above what is believed to be the Apostle Peter’s grave.

Below in the Alternative Perspective section you’ll find a collection of other images from around Rome.  The first is the Colosseum, followed by a view of part of the Roman forum, with the Colosseum in the background.  Next is the top of the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument at sunset – I loved how the clouds mimicked dust being kicked up by the horses.  Then there is an image from inside the Pantheon, followed by another image from inside St. Peters Basilica.

More next week!

–Dan Thompson