If it's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium - 6/24/08

I'm baaaaack!  Back in Brussels that is.  In the last 2 weeks I have been in 4 countries, 7 (or 8?) cities, on 4 planes, 2 trains, and walked something less than 1000 miles. [Okay, it's way, way less than 1000 miles, but at times my feet screamed for mercy.]

As I've mentioned before, I've been traveling quite a bit the last two weeks.  Some of it work, some of it vacation (holiday), some of it a little of both.  First stop was Rome (Italy, not New York) for a chemical conference, then from there to Boston to attend my son's graduation on the Cape, then the two of us flew to Madrid, trained to Valencia and Barcelona, then flew back to Brussels on Sunday. [And we'll be heading for Paris this weekend.]  According to my camera counter I took over 700 photos during that time, and he took probably about the same.  One or two of the photos I took actually look okay. 

I'll be milking these photos over the next few weeks to keep the articles short enough to ready.  So, first stop Rome.

Needless to say, Roma was amazing.  It was my first time to Rome...in fact, first time to Italy.  In it's infinite wisdom, however, the conference was in a hotel way outside the city.  Luckily they arranged for a guided tour of the major landmarks on one afternoon, after which I met up with a Romanian friend of mine and we explored into the night. 

Oh, one quick side note.  Would you believe we got stuck in a traffic jam for 1/2 hour because President George W. Bush was in town.  The same thing happened the day I arrived in Edinburgh three years ago.  I'm beginning to think he's stalking me.

Anyway, after passing by the Vatican in the bus we walked around downtown.  One of our first sites was the Monumente a Vittorio Emanuele II.

We didn't go near the colosseum...but I did catch a glimpse of it in the distance.

The best part of the city (in my opinion) was the Fontana di Trevi, into which several of us tossed coins (three people, three coins...that counts, right?).

I actually took tons of photos at Trevi, so may do a special column just on this one spot in the future.  From Trevi we skampered down several side streets, past old columns hidden amongst the buildings, and saw several obelisks.  Rome is largely built on top of older versions of Rome (thousands of years of history will let you do that), so all over the city you see layers of buildings and monuments.  This obelisk is 1300 years older than the fountain it sits on.

I took this photo just because I liked the colors.

On to the Pantheon, which was one of the most amazing buildings I've ever seen.  From the outside it isn't that inspiring.  In part because all the bronze that coated the front and roof was "borrowed" over the years to make everything from cannons to the roof of St. Peter's Basillica in Vatican City.

But the inside was incredible.  The huge doors, which are as tall as the columns above, are the original doors from nearly 2000 years ago.  The marble floors are also original - ancient Romans walked on those floors.  And the ceiling of the round dome is spectacular.

See that glimpse of light in the top of the ceiling.  It's a perfectly round hole that lets in natural light...the only light in the entire building.  Of course it also lets in rain, which falls on the marble floor (though it apparently doesn't rain much).

Last but not least were the twin churches in the Piazza del Popolo (Plaza of the People).

There was more...an incredible amount actually packed into a few hours in the center city.  So much more to see for the next trip.

I'll do photo spreads in future weeks of my trips to Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, as well as Paris.  Plus I'm now scheduled to go to Prague (Czech Republic) over the July 4th weekend.  So keep checking back weekly for more of If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium.

Thanks all for stopping by!

Arrivederci.