- Rome
I slept through the entire night without getting up - quite a feat anymore.
We grabbed breakfast and a shower and headed out - this is our last day in Roma and we're heading to Trastevere and the old Jewish Ghetto.
We took a cab over to Villa Farnesina. The frescoed rooms are amazing.
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The ticket for Villa Farnesina |
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Facade of Villa Farnesina |
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Ceiling of the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche |
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Marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxana, east side of room |
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Marriage of Alexander the Great and Roxana, west side of room |
We stopped at Santa Maria della Scala. We talked with a couple from Melbourne, Australia - their son lives in Italy and so they come here every couple of years.
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The alter at Santa Maria della Scala |
A view of the entrance and the organ pipes |
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Aviva and I in front of a statue of a nun |
A window of the Madonna and child |
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The ceiling |
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The dome is striking |
As we walked to our next church, we saw a woman with a pretty black pomeranian - the dog loved me but growled at Aviva!
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What a cute dog! |
We walked down to Santa Maria in Trastevere.
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The facade of Santa Maria in Trastevere |
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A detail of the outside mosaic frieze |
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The mosaic behind the altar |
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A detail from the right side mosaic |
A statue of a monk with notes (we saw two people place notes and candles while we were there) |
Trastevere is an interesting area - lots of small streets, still quite a feeling of the old Rome (it reminded Aviva of Naples).
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This is what the streets look like in Trastevere |
We started walking towards the ghetto. We stopped along the way at Gino in Trastevere at Via della Lungaretta 85 and had lunch. It was very good - I had homemade fettucini with porcini mushrooms and parmesiana, followed by veal saltumbocca.
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The Tiber at Tiber Island |
We crossed the Tiber at Tiber Island, and then went to the Spanish Synagogue. The synagogue was built in 1901 - 1904; during the ghetto years, there was one building housing 5 separate temples, one for each of the practicing groups. We went on the guided tour (its the only way to see the inside - security is very tight because a Palestinian set off a bomb inside a few years ago), which was fun - a young Jewish woman was our guide, and she was very knowledgeable and pleasant. I bought another yud (pointer to use when reading Torah) - I love the way yud's look and I just love having a few small ones around.
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The ticket to the Museo Ebraica |
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The facade of the Sinagoga |
Another interior view |
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An interior view of the Sinagoga |
We walked on to the Teatro di Marcello, and then saw the famous fountain at Palazzo Mattei.
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A shot of Teatro di Marcelo |
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The fountain at Palazzo Mattei |
We stopped at a nice cafe along Argentina and had gelato, some pastry and Coke Light (and rested). Then we strolled back to the hotel, by way of the Pantheon, to pack.
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Aviva found this post card - I guess Axe really does drive girls wild! |
We finally got around to dinner - we went to Ristorante Mario at Via della Vite 55; the food was Tuscan and good. We walked back and hit the rack.
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Business card for Ristorante Mario |