St. Peter's Square

We ditched the Vatican Museum tour before they dropped us at the tour-sanctioned gift shop.  By this time, we were blazing and thirsty and ready to sit down for a rest before making our way into St. Peter's Square.  Shade was in short supply, but we were thrilled to find these frozen bottles of water.

Bliss!

St. Peter's Square

Vatican City

June 2008

Vatican Museum Tour

in the Vatican Library

in the Map Room at the Vatican Museum

The maps on the wall of the Map Room were lovely, but the tour itself was pretty draining.

       

"Move along.  Move along..."

Vatican Museum

Vatican City

June 2008

Bocca della Verità

Mr. Hunter has no hands to put into the Mouth of Truth, 

but he's a big fan of Roman Holiday.

Swoon!

La Bocca della Verita (the Mouth of Truth)

at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Rome, Italy

June 2008

Mr. Hunter, Archaeologist

Mr. Hunter checked out some of the fragments of Roman ruins as he toured Palatine Hill.

Exploring Domus Augustana

Mr. Hunter sunbathes on pieces of Roman marble.

Palatine Hill

Rome, Italy

June 2008

More postcards from Ancient Rome

On his first day in Rome, when he was still quite jet-lagged, Mr. Hunter toured Palatine Hill.

This is just past the entrance -- I think those buildings might include the Baths of Septimius Severus.

Those cool tall trees are Stone Pine trees, aka Umbrella Pine trees. 

 You see them in a lot of places in Rome.

Mr. H poses with the Stadium of Domitian.

More of the stadium.  And that might be a bit of Domus Augustana (House of Augustus) in the background.

Here's a map of Palatine Hill.

Palatine Hill

Rome, Italy

June 2008