Apple Store!

I have missed blogging.  I have been sick for two weeks.  I thought I had a rather large computer problem but thankfully there is an Apple store!  Seems both Pam and computer are doing well.  Did you know that when a baby is born a color appropriate ribbon and announcement is placed on the door of the lucky family.  How sweet.

Just another typical sight in Rome - The Tiber river

On this gloomy day what a beautiful sight was this.  A simple stroll over one of Rome's many bridges gave me an opportunity to see this.  St. Peter's dome in the background.  Ahhh so beautiful

My lovely place in Rome- and grumpy notes on sleep disturbance

Could this be TMI, don't know .  But here are a few picts of the apartment in Rome.  Been pretty happy here overall.  Nice and large and modern.  Walls a little thin but that seems to prevail in Italy in some places.  (see below)

Several evenings I enjoyed hearing the neighbors playing with  their toddler, singing next door. As I write this from a very loud hotel with thin walls and loud floors above me . I haven't slept in days and the banging of doors and such just boggle the mind.  Is anyone aware that other people are living here???  I can actually hear the TV in the room next door word for word and the children speaking in the room above.  It is 11:35pm.  Last night I enjoyed the neighbors TV until 3am, good thing I was awake :)  - this seems to be the Karma that has (up until now....) plagued my hotel experiences of the last 7 or so years.  It has become predictable and comically irritating.  The grumpies have definitely set in.  I have gone to 3 herb stores to procure sleeping assistance.  Last nights version set my throat on fire and I was up till after 3.  Tonights version comes from an herbalist with an international reputation both for his herbal preparations and his anti wrinkle cream.  I got some of both and I'll keep you posted.

The Vatican Museums and Sistine chapel

This is a rather large succession of photographs.  Far fewer even,  than I could conceivably post of these rooms at the Vatican museums.  I am told the Vatican is not called the Vatican by Italians... But anyway, I highly recommend the early tour.  We took a small early tour by Viator. and were only 8 people in our group.  We entered the museums one hour before the public.  It was a very slow day, unusually slow we were told by the guide.  It was a great way to see the sights before the masses arrived.  These are some of the various rooms we went through.  If you have been you will remember the beauty and ornate decor of the walls themselves.  Beyond ornate.

This extremely long gallery was stunning.  Along the walls were maps of the districts around italy.  Created anciently and are very accurate even to todays standards.

 Walls like this were everywhere.  Painted by the masters and others unknown.

 Ceilings like this. Fantastic

 Floors with detailed mosaics, some brought here from Ostia Antica which I visited and posted about earlier in November.

 Walls 

A pep through a keyhole to see one of the Swiss Guards on duty.

 a "simple" corridor

 St. Peter's square, Christmas tree being set up.

Inside the basicilica, a mass was in progress so the lights were on.

The ceiling in one area at the from of the basilica.

Ceiling 

View from a Bidet

Yes, the title is correct.  This is the beautiful view out of my bathroom window from the proximity of sitting on the bidet.  I had wondered why the bidet was situated in such a way that you nearly have to climb over it to get to the actual toilet.  I should have taken a photo to represent this.  The two were located in a small narrow corner of the bathroom, the toilet protruding out from the left wall and the bidet perpendicular pointing out from the wall that forms the corridor.  So I literally had to climb around the bidet to get to the toilet.  Once I finally opened the window it was more clear that perhaps this was positioned for the optimal view.... Who knows but that makes the most sense to me :)

A little tourism

No idea what this is but as for most of Rome there are picturesque buildings at every turn.  This one lies along the river and is facing the river.

A small Piazza near my language school

simply amazing, this has been preserved and built around and in.  They have a way here to keep the ancient and keep it useful.  A stroll in the night show the city under such a romantic cast.

Again the Pantheon

Night on the river Castello St. Angello.  Just a simple view on my way home the other night.

Ostia Antica

The castello by day

At the very top of a tall hill this was the view over a wall down to a property where the Spanish Embassy is located.  It is high above the city (view to follow)

View.  At noon there was a cannon blast.

View from a room

This is a view from my apartment here in Rome.  We are in a four story building and these building are across from us.  We are at the top of one of the 7 hills in Rome.  The view through to this park/farm/property (I am not sure what it is) is delightful.  In a following picture you can see the animals out for a graze.  This seems to be a farm like property.  I can hear the roosters and goats at different times of the day. Even the rooters in Rome stay up late like the people.  These guys seem to crow at 1 am for about an hour...

 

The pretty farm, did I mention this is right in Rome???

The Shepherd and is flock in downtown Rome