After arriving in Athens, we checked into the Grande Bretagne at Syntagma Square. We watched the guard change at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier and walked through the National Garden and Aristotle’s Lyceum. After lunch, we visited the marble Panathenaic Stadium and Temple of Olympian Zeus before dinner.
Continue reading “Historic Athens Near Syntagma and the National Garden”Leaving Rome
We checked out early from the W Rome in order to arrive at Fiumicino with enough time for our morning departure on United. Luckily, there was food in the mostly mediocre Prime Vista lounge. We departed on time and arrived an hour early at Dulles.
Continue reading “Leaving Rome”The Vatican
After breakfast at the W, we took the Metro over to the Vatican where we spent our last full day of this trip exploring the Vatican Museums, including the famous Sistine Chapel with its Michelangelo frescos. After, we visited Saint Peter’s Basilica before having dinner nearby.
Continue reading “The Vatican”Santa Maria Maggiore and the Capitoline Hill
After breakfast at the W, we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. After, we visited the Basilicas of San Silvestro in Capite and Santa Maria in Aracoeli before spending the afternoon at the Capitoline Museums. We then walked over to a restaurant by the Circus Maximus and below the Palatine for dinner, visiting two more churches on the way.
Continue reading “Santa Maria Maggiore and the Capitoline Hill”Vittorio Emanuele II and the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
After breakfast at the W, we visited the huge Monument to Victor Emmanuel II followed by the Palazzo Venezia. After lunch, we visited the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral of the Pope. It was night by the time we left and got two gelatos on the way back to the W.
Continue reading “Vittorio Emanuele II and the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano”