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Florence
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Ponte Vecchio. Used to be inhabited by butchers and tanners who would use the
river below for their waste. Because of the mess and smell it made, they were all
replaced by jewelers in 1593. It's the only bridge in Florence to survive WWII.
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david.jpg
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Michelangelo's David. A bit larger than I had expected.
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duomo.jpg
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Duomo - Santa Maria del Fiore. Europe's fourth largest church.
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kensview.jpg
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Stayed with a colleague of mine (Ken Brickley) while in Florence.
This picture was taken from the multi-level terrace of his incredible apartment.
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toe.jpg
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Michaelangelo's David was recently vandalized when a loony local decided
to take a hammer to his toe. Fortunately the museum was able to search
each of the visiting tourists, recover all of the peices, and put it back together.
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panoramic.jpg
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Panoramic view of Florence from the top of the Duomo's dome
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mike.jpg
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Tomb of Michelangelo located in the church, Santa Croce
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Rome
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Jenn and me in front of the coliseum. Built in 72 AD to house
deadly gladiatorial combats, much of the stadium has been stripped
in order to build other buildings in Rome.
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colosseo.jpg
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A great panoramic view inside the stadium. The center area was actually
tunnels under a wooden floor. The area was sometimes flooded in order
to house naval battles.
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spanishsteps.jpg
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The Spanish Steps. Charles Dickens claimed the steps to be crowded with
models dressed as Madonnas, saints, and emperors. They all pretty much
looked like tourists to me.
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battleground.jpg
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Another view of the inside of the Coliseum.
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invatican.jpg
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Me standing inside St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican City.
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forum.jpg
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Jenn and me with the Roman Forum behind us.
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constantine2.jpg
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Looking at the Arch of Constantine from inside the Coliseum
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mummy.jpg
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An Egyptian mummy inside the Vatican Museum
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memummy.jpg
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My impersonation of an Egyptian mummy inside the Vatican Museum
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dblhelix.jpg
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The staircase in the Vatican Museum in the form of a double helix.
It consists of two spirals: one to walk up and another to walk down.
That's me at the bottom.
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santangelo.jpg
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Castel Sant'Angelo. A place of safety for the Popes of the past. There is
a corridor that links it to the Vatican Palace, providing an escape route
for the Pope in times of danger.
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vatican.jpg
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A panoramic shot of Jenn and me in the Piazza San Pietro in front of St. Peter's.
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meforum.jpg
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Me standing in front of the Roman Forum
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Pisa
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The Baptistery, Duomo, and Leaning Tower.
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support.jpg
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa now leans in excess of 5 meters. This
contraption seems to be the latest Pisian remedy. It has cables
strung from it to the Duomo trying to hold it up.
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mysupport.jpg
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Thought I'd help the cause of trying to keep the tower from falling.
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baptistery.jpg
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I actually wasn't too excited about the Baptistery but
this picture turned out well so it is added to the page.
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Pompeii
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This guy didn't see it coming until it was too late. The people
of Pompei were buried alive in ash from the erupting Mt. Vesuvius.
When their bodies decayed over the years it left empty cavities in
the hardened ground. This guy is what resulted when one of the
cavities was filled wither plaster.
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croucher.jpg
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This is another guy who got caught in the falling ashes. Apparently he did
not want to get any up his nose.
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meonstreet.jpg
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Me standing on one of the many ancient streets in Pompei
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deadhead.jpg
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Close up of the head of the guy in the picture shown above. You can see
his teeth and parts of his scull.
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