“Rome was not built in a day”

On January 14, 2026December 30, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation8 Comments

After spending a week in Tuscany we took the train back to Rome for a day and a half. Our first stop that afternoon was the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, the 10th church we had toured during our stay in Italy. We waited in line about 30 minutes to get through security but the church is so big that it didn’t feel too crowded.

It was a little overwhelming because there was so much to look at and so many different rooms and alters. The original main part was completed in 432AD and then added on for many centuries. Two saints and 6 popes are buried here.

The relic of the holy crib, the manger on which the baby Jesus was laid, is entombed in this alter.

The next morning we were exhausted from walking non-stop for almost 2 weeks so we got tickets for the “hop on, hop off” double decker bus. It was cooler this morning and there was the first threat of rain since we had been in Italy.

We passed the Colosseum and the line to get in through security was wrapped around the building almost twice.

We were going to get off here but it started to drizzle so we stayed on the bus a little longer to see where it would take us.

The drizzle stopped and we got off at the top of the Spanish Steps.

The 11th church we visited was the Trinita dei Monti, at the top of the Steps. They were having a mass this morning so I only quickly peeked in. It was built in 1585 and St. Theresa and many of the Borghese family are buried here.

The view from the top of the Steps.

Shots from the top of the double decker bus that afternoon. The crowds were crazy around the Vatican City so we didn’t get off there. After a full day of sightseeing we had dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. All of the meals we had were great. The next day we were taking the train to Naples for the day so we hit the sack early.

A day in Cinque Terre

On December 3, 2025November 18, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation8 Comments

This was the day I was waiting for. We were up early and on our way to Cinque Terre (meaning “five lands”), in northwest Italy. It’s part of the Italian Riviera, just south of Genoa and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We were going to visit 3 of the 5 villages that dot the coastline. Above are some villages we passed on the bus ride over from our hotel in Monticatini Terme.

We drove through La Spezia on our way and from the hillside as we were entering Cinque Terre you could see the port.

The first village we visited was Manarola, considered the oldest of the 5 villages. The primary industry here is wine-making and the vineyards are on hillsides. The tour bus dropped us off at the top of the hill and we walked down towards the water. We stopped about halfway and I noticed the guy sitting on the balcony on the top left in the above picture. What an amazing view!

We took our time going down and noticed all of the little details of this small town. I could see the ferry coming into port.

Our 5th church was the Chiesa de San Lorenzo which was completed in 1338.

The water comes down from the mountain and runs under the street here. We could here it running at certain spots.

As soon as we got down to the water we all ran over to the other side to admire the village and take pictures (we were all typical tourist).

The town was very festive but was a little crowded this morning.

One last look as we took the ferry to the next village.

We arrived at Vernazza on the water and this was our first view. After having yummy gelato we headed over to the church (the 6th one we visited) on the far left in the above picture.

The Chiesa di Santa Margherita di Antiochia was built in 1318 and was fairly simple but the view from the windows was amazing.

One last look at Vernazza as we left on the ferry to head to our last village.

Monterosso was our last village to visit and the largest of the 5. It’s also the flattest and was easy to get around. We had the afternoon here and got some pizza for a late lunch and tried the farinata di ceci (chickpea pancakes) that were amazing.

The streets were colorful and many of the buildings had stripes.

The 7th church we went into was the Confraternita dei Neri Mortis et Orationis and was built in the 17th century.

The views here were amazing and from the far end of the beach you could see the other villages across the water.

We did not have to walk back up the mountain to get back to our bus. We took the train out of Monterosso and our bus picked us up and drove us back up and around the mountain to get back to our hotel later that day. The above is the view of La Spezia from the bus as we left.

Our first two days in Rome

On November 10, 2025November 14, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation9 Comments

I’m going to go off topic and posts some shots from our recent trip to Italy every so often. I hope you don’t mind coming along for the ride.

Brett and I flew into Rome for 2 days before heading to Tuscany for a week long tour. Then back to Rome for several days before heading home. We got to our hotel just after lunch and dropped our bags and took off. Our hotel was a 15 minute walk to the Colosseum so we headed there first. There were long lines to get in and we walked past it after snapping some pictures and headed uphill towards a church.

The first church we went into (we went into 11 in total) was the Santa Maria Nova/Santa Francesca Romano, just a few minutes from the Colosseum. It was not a big church but still very ornate. It was originally built in the 8th century but then rebuilt in the 13th century and the name was changed to Santa Francesca Romano after St. Frances died in 1440 and was buried there.

A typical side street in Rome. I’m not sure if these are rentals. We saw them all over the city.

It’s supposed to be illegal to sit on the Spanish Steps but no one seemed to know that or care. And in all fairness, there is almost no where to sit all over Rome apart from cafes. We saw very few benches and everyone is exhausted from walking around. We came back here before leaving Rome and I got some great views from the very top of the stairs but more on those later.

Typical statue. They are everywhere here.

I thought this little cafe was so cute with the umbrellas on the chair.

A side view of the Trevi fountain. There was a long line to get down close to the water and the crowds around this area were insane.

The 2nd church we visited, Santi Vincenzo E Anastasio, was across from the fountain. The original church was built in 962 and then rebuilt in 1650. The hearts of 22 Popes are buried here.

We stopped in at the 3rd church right before the Pantheon. The church of Sant’lgnazio de Loyola (St. Ignatius) was built in 1650 as the chapel for a college. There are 3 saints and a Pope buried here.