Sandra D goes to Italy!

The polizia outside the Pope's summer residence. They only hang out here when the Pope is in town so we thought we might get lucky and run into him in the village square.

This is the village square where he holds mass Sundays when he is at the Summer Residence.

Rome, Italy

Next on our quick tour of Italy we visited Rome to see the sights. The first stop was the Collosseum which is the hugest structure of its type with 80 arched entrances allowing access to 55,000 spectators in ancient Roman times. The Collosseum took about 10 years to build. This was the center of ancient Roman entertainment, where the gladiatorial and animal combats were held. You can still see the animal cages in the basement of the center.

Rani, Noah & Grandmom 'P' Rockin' the Colosseum

Rani & Noah -"the Gladiator wanna-bes"

Noah checking out the area where they used to keep the animals.

Rani & Noah on the pillar we visited when Noah was -3 months old.....here's a link to the picture of us last year.

The Roman Forum

This is the central area of ancient Rome where commerce, business, prostitution (yes, prostitution), cult and the administration of justice took place. This is also where religious activities were conducted and it was considered the communal hearth of the city.

A family picture at sunset in the Roman Forum - awww!

Grandmom Price spoiling Noah with his first gelati - that's what grandmom's are for, right?

Grandmom & Noah visiting the Spanish Steps at the Piazza di Spagna. These steps were built between 1723-26.

Cualquiera ve un elevador? Hay muchos pasos!

Grandmom & Noah at the St. Peters Basilica.

Crazy Noah - what's going on everybody?!? I need sleep :-)

Florence, Italy
On to our next stop in our whirlwind tour - Florence. We first went to the Ponte Vecchio, this is the bridge built in 1345 that was famous for housing first butchers, then grocers, blacksmiths and other merchants. In 1593 the Medici grand Duke Ferdinand I who used this bridge for his commute from his Palace and the office decided that the plebian commerce underfoot was unseemly. He threw out the butchers and blacksmiths and installed 41 goldsmiths and 8 jewelers. The bridge has been devoted to this trade ever since.

Rani & Noah looking for a new piece of jewelry at the goldsmith shop.

Here is a copy of the famous statue David in the Piazza della Signoria. We didn't think we would have enough time to get to the museum to see the 'real' David. David is considered a symbol of Florentine civic pride since he stood up to his oppressors.

The Neptune fountain

Il Duomo

A Florence family photo