Pictures from Italy-- Pompeii March 8th

 

they had courtyards where they grew food

some had beautiful mosaic floors

The next 4 photos were taken in the forum of Pompeii. "The Civil Forum is the core of daily life of the city and is the focal point of all the main public buildings for city administration and justice, business management, and trade activities such as markets, as well as the main places of citizen worship."

the Centaur statue (Statua di centauro)

they had 3 plaster casts of the victims of the volcanic eruption on display

the forum

the small theatre (Teatro Piccolo)-the Odeon

our tour guide in the lead

these rooms were where the gladiators stayed with the animals they fought

the large theatre (Teatro Grande)

the Quadriporticum was a covered walkway near the Large and Small theatres used to either travel between events or just gain cover from the rain. 

Pictures from Italy-- Milan and Venice

 MILAN in our Airbnb March 4th

me and Glen watching an Italian cooking show

MILAN out and about March 5th

getting ready to ride the Metro to il Duomo di Milano

I think we were pointing to where our Airbnb was on the Metro map

il Duomo di Milano, la Chiesa di San Fedele

a close up of some of the statues on the side of the cathedral

me and Hannah at the Castello Sforzesco (Sforza Castle) 

Glen in the courtyard of the Castello Sforesco

Hannah in front of the Castello Sforzesco

just hanging around town 

Hannah and me in front of the Santa Maria del Carmine Church

I ate pistachio gelato every chance I got

                           **********VENICE on March 6th (one of my favorite places)**********

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMZTLqa_4fE (we were there in the off season, so there wasn't real congestion on the canals)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6QYsMvRbDk

I'm pretty sure the green domed church is the San Simeone Piccolo

in front of the Basilica di San Marco (dates back to the 11th century)

Glen walking down a narrow street

the green-domed church is the Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo

gondolas across from the church of San Giorgio Maggiore

The statues of St. Mark's Winged Lion and St. Theodor (a saint of the Byzantine tradition, was the first patron saint of Venice) in St. Mark's square

another view of the Basilica di San Marco (left) next to the Palazzo Ducale (Doge Palace on the right)

the winged lion statue in St. Mark's square overlooking Venice

on the "historic Rialto bridge" which crosses over the Grand Canal

the bell tower (Campanileo) of St Mark's Basilica in Saint Mark's Square

pizza for Glen (see the eggplant?) and Hannah and gnocchi for me

someone stole their phones while they were taking selfies in St. Mark's square

we got rained on a bit in the afternoon-the Santa Maria della Salute church in the background

we went to this concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons at the Scuola Grande di San Teodoro

part of the ceiling in the concert room

the musicians in period dress--they were extremely talented

heading back to the bus at 10 pm

night view of the canal