After leaving Pompeii, we drove south along the Amalfi coast. I had been here in 1952 but Granny had never been to this part of Italy. It hasn't changed much. The road is 2 lanes and winds along the cliff side I remember when I was here in 1952, we were in a bus and it often seemed like the bus was going over the side of the cliff. It's a STEEP drop into the water. We stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the town of Positano.
This area is known for the liqueur limoncello which is made from a local variety of lemon. The lemons are VERY large and as such can yield a large amount of the zest from which the liqueur is made. Of course we had to try some and It was SOUR!
We drove down to Positano and made the loop through the town but we didn't stop as we had a long way back to Rome.
We had arranged an "Eatwith" dinner for the evening. We thought it was going to be an opportunity to share dinner with a local host and other travelers. It was very disappointing. It was VERY difficult to get to, the food was sub=par and we didn't dine with the host. C'est la Vie!
For Sunday, we had planned another tour of Rome - this time by car. First stop was one of the old Roman aqueducts. According to Wikipedia, there were almost 500 miles of aqueduct in Rome. It was an amazing accomplishment building all these aqueducts and equally amazing that a lot are still standing after 2000 years.
I couldn't make out the entire course. I wonder if any holes have to be played through one of the arches of the aqueduct. The arch in the center is the Porta Maggiore (Larger Gate) and is at the convergence of 8 of the aqueducts. :The arch actually supports part of 2 of the aquaducts. To the right are some additional ruins along side of the Porta Maggiore.
Our tour continued by the Roman Forum.and the Piazza del Campidoglio. The Forum was the center of the ancient city of Rome and as seen in the pictures above, contains the remnants of a number of old Roman structures.
The Piazza del Campidoglio was a square that was designed by Michelangelo. In the center of the square there is a replica of a statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The original statue was moved to a museum in 1981.
We walked down the flight of steps from Piazza del Campidoglio to meet Andrea at the street below. We had a short wait and a passerby took a picture of the travelers at rest. We also made a short stop so we could view the Trevi Fountain. Unfortunately for us, restoration work is in progress on the fountain and it is surrounded by fencing. However, I was able to get a picture.
It was time to go to the Jewish quarter. Andrea had arranged for us to have lunch at one of the restaurants there. It was quite good but I was a bit disturbed about one of the items on the menu. I decided that wasn't for me!
Unfortunately we had miscalculated. It was Sunday and we thought the Synagogue would be open. However, they had closed at noon in preparation for Rosh Hashanah. Bummer!
Two other stops on our tour were the Piazza Venezia and the Spanish Steps. The Piazza Venezia is dominated by the Victor Emmanuel II Monument also known as "The Wedding Cake". Victor Emmanuel was the first king of a unified Italy. I also found it interesting that on one of the buildings there was the "Lion of St. Mark" which is one of the symbols of Venice. (Remember we saw that in Venice outside St. Mark's Cathedral.)
The Spanish Steps are one of the most visited spots as seen by the crowds of people at the base of the steps. Of course we had to have a picture of Granny at the top of "The Steps".
Last stop on the tour for the day was the Vatican. We had already had a tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Today we were going to see the Basilica. I remember the first time I was here in 1952 and also when both Granny and I were here in 1958. It hasn't changed. I was impressed then and was impressed this time.
I particularly wanted to see the Pieta. I remember that I had thought it was one of the most beautirul sculptures I had ever seen. I wasn't disappointed.
Sr. Peters is impressive both inside and out. It is immense. I don't know why the chairs were setup in the square but it give some idea of its massive size.
There are few things as colorful as a Swiss Guard. They hold their pose the same way the English bobbies do.
