The Eternal City

For our first extended vacation of the year, Brandon and I visited a city that's been on his "must-see" list since I've met him: Rome. I had been to the city nine years previously when I studied abroad in Florence, but every church and piazza still left me awestruck the second time around. We stayed in a fabulous hotel - one of the nicest I've ever stayed in - directly next to the Pantheon.

I took this from the bed!

The Pantheon is a former Roman temple dedicated to all the gods, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa in 27 BC. In the 7th century it was turned into a Christian church (the Roman Empire started accepting Christianity in the 4th century.) One of its main characteristics is the oculus in the ceiling - the world's largest unsupported dome.

Piazza della Rotonda

Oculus open to the sky - there are holes on the ground to drain rainwater

On our first day, we took a guided tour that included the Coliseum, 

a walking tour of the main city sights,

On top of the Spanish Steps

and finished at the Vatican museums and St. Peter's Basilica. It was an epic, eight-hour tour!

High altar in St. Peter's

View of Vatican City and Rome from atop Aventine Hill

The next morning we self-toured the Roman Forum, the main city of ancient Rome. We spent four hours wandering among the ruins, and we didn't even see everything! It was huge. Everywhere you look in Rome, you see excavations and ancient buildings. It's like no where else on earth (except maybe Athens?) 

Panorama from the gardens of Emperor Augustus's palace

Taking in the history

One of my favorite pastimes we adopted during our trip was popping into a church on our way to/from other sites. There are over 900 churches located in the city, and we stumbled upon some really beautiful ones. I loved seeing the architectural/artistic differences of the decor. Most were dark inside, so our photos didn't turn out too well. These are some of the best:

Tenth-century church - Byzantine style

Seventeenth-century church - Gothic style

One of our good friends from home put us in contact with his father who lives in Rome. He generously took us around for a day, including driving down to Naples to climb Mt. Vesuvius. Such a fun adventure!

With Enzo on top of the volcano

Roadside sandwiches - so good!

The food - I never remember to take photos of food, but suffice it to say we stuffed ourselves with pizza, coffee, pasta, wine and gelato...usually all in one day! I'm still dreaming about the tomato sauce. We had a fantastic five days in Rome - enough time to really fall in love with the people and culture. Ciao Roma!

The Emerald Isle

Last month, on a rainy and chilly morning, we met our DC friends in Dublin for a long weekend. We had a blast walking around the city, visiting the Guinness factory (obviously) and strolling around the city.

Photo opp

The second day, we rented a car (driving on the left!) and drove south to the city of Brey to take a hike in Greystone National Park.

View of the loch from above

View of the loch at sea level

The moody clouds held off the rain for (almost) the entire walk. So we got to enjoy the park's breathtaking views! We hiked around the hills for a few hours, taking in the scenery. It was glorious.

My favorite photo of Brandon's

I could easily see how leprechaun and fairy stories originate in these woods. Totally worth a day outside the city! The walk ended with this view of the Irish Sea. 

Back in Dublin after our hike, we refreshed ourselves in the city's oldest pub, The Brazen Head. Locals say the Vikings drank here since 1198. The front maintains the original building, while the bar expands to three more additional rooms in the back. 

They have live music every night, including the night we went. I may or may not have ended up singing along onstage...

The next day we polished off our weekend with a tour of the Jameson factory. It was a much smaller museum than Guinness and had a clean, informative layout. We actually preferred the Jameson tour to the Guinness tour for its more personal feel and fun tasting room.  

Dublin is more fun with friends! Thanks for visiting, guys!

Home of King Henry VIII

Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived...

A voice whispered those creepy words from hidden speakers in the castle where King Henry VIII lived.  At first I thought it was Brandon trying to scare me, but in reality it was the curators trying  to scare everyone! The words represent the fates of Henry's six wives. And the ghost of the beheaded second wife, Kathryn Howard, is rumored to wail down one of the hallways in the castle.

Entrance to the medieval side of the castle

On a sunny and windy Sunday morning, Brandon and I hopped on a train and rode southwest for 30 minutes to visit Hampton Court Palace, the former home of many famous English royals, including King Henry VIII, James I (first king of combined England and Scotland) and Charles I (who was executed during the Civil War.)

Beautiful!

The building dates from the 14th century, and before it was a royal residence, the palace belonged to Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII's advisor. Henry liked the manor so much, that he "asked" Wolsey to hand it over. The succeeding rulers frequented the palace (they had others to rotate, of course) until the Civil War, when Oliver Cromwell's troops seized it in 1645.

Learning from professor audio guide

After the restoration of the monarchy, King William III and Mary II (College of William and Mary fame in Williamsburg, Virginia) had the palace renovated by the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren (Wren designed St Paul's cathedral in London.) Wren demolished 2/3 of the original palace and rebuilt it in Baroque splendor. The resulting view today is a mixture of Medieval (see top photo), Renaissance and Baroque styles - quite a sight to see!

Wren architecture

Renaissance architecture

And the gardens are a lovely place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Wren side of the castle - note the wind!

Traveling in Europe is teaching me to slow down. When we started to make our way through the gardens, I caught myself mid-step: Why am I power walking through this English tulip garden? This is where I'm supposed to "stop and smell the roses," literally. Moving at a "normal" pace is not natural for me - I blame living in Ann Arbor/Philly/DC! But I'm finding our weekends much more enjoyable and relaxing when I make a conscious effort to slacken my pace and do one thing instead of three. Good thing the English countryside is a perfect place to practice. :)

Thanks for the visit King Henry!