The stunning conclusion to my european vaccation

Well, after Carmen went home, i spent my time mostly wandering the city and playing with my camera. Getting instant results with digital is nice and then add in post exposure manipulation on a computer and you can turn almost any nincompoop into a photographer.

I took roughly another 1000 pictures and most will end up deleted. there are a few nice ones though.
this is going to be my photo exhibition post.














i also took a day trip down to Pompeii. that was amazing. to think that this settlement has been preserved over the last 2000 years.

that is Mt Vesuvius in the background. i guess the divot is what blew off.


This counter, they believe, is like a fast food counter; walk up cafeteria style. there were a few of them scattered through the city.




these are not casts made of remains. these are actual people and a dog that were encased in lava. you can see the skull bone on the one image at the top.

This street marker points the direction to the nearest house of ill repute.

This illustration is part of the preserved menu at the house of ill repute.

they are doing some renovation in areas to show what it may have looked like back then.

one last photo of Pompeii.

And this is my last picture of Rome. sunset over St Peters.

Rome

I am having less and less to blog about. i know no one feels sorry for me because of all of my travels to europe. i do want to remind everyone,though, that you are only seeing highlights. the spaces in between the highlights are filled with lowlights and boredom. i will, one of these days blog about my daily routine and then repeat it 100 times. you dont really want to see blogs of the daily routine here.
anyway, i still have some pictures of rome to post. after our marvolous time in tuscany we made our way to rome. immediately stepping out of the train station we were conned into taking an expensive ride to our hotel. i am not sure how we ended up saying ok as we both knew better, but life goes on. the hotel was nice in quiet more residentional area. this means it is more out of the way of the big tourist attractions. so we spent a lot of time walking, which is fine starting off the day but by the end of the day walking back it gets quited tiresome.

We were able to see the major sites and gave ourselves a few nice walking tours of the city. i took several hundred pictures and i will now post them ALL for your viewing pleasure. the first afternoon we visited the plaza del popolo, the spanish steps, the fountain of trevi, the pantheon and the piazza navona. While we were out, we indulged in beer, wine, pizza, and of course gelato.

The second day we spent at the Vatican, wandering through the Vatican museum which leads to the Sistine Chapel then we made our way to St. Peters. It is still, in my opinion, the most magificent building on the planet. It was still as impressive as the first time i visited it 16 years ago. it is literally the only place i have ever walked into and had my jaw drop open. It is also the home of my favorite sculpture, Michaelangelo's Peita.

these pictures could never do St Peters justice or bring to life the sheer grandness and glory of the building. I highly recommend seeing it yourselves in person. one thing the photos can represent is the Swiss Guard, the Pope's loyal protectors. Yes they realy wear clown suits.

Our third day, we took it easy. haning at the pool, and relaxing was on the menu that day. of course though we had our fill of pizza, pasta, and wine though. the fourth day in Rome was the day we journied out to the coloseum, the forum and the Victor Emmanuel II monument.

>




Carmen left me the following day, for she had to go attend to our children and return to work after a nice summer off. i stayed a few days more as i was attending a conference there in Rome. I did manage to take a day tour down to naples and pompeii. i will post pictures of that trip with my next entry.