Parents Visit for Christmas, Part III

The last and final installment: Christmas Eve and Day and Dec 26.

The Bernini fountain at Piazza Barberini:



Me in front of Palazzo Barberini:



The 4 fountains of Via delle Quattro Fontane:






Inside Basilica San Pietro at the Vatican on Christmas Day:



The presepe (cresh) at the Vatican:





The Vatican:



We went out for Christmas lunch and when Dad ordered a cappuccino afterwards it came out like this:



Us having Christmas lunch -- a 5-course affair: a salumi e formaggi (meat and cheese) antipasto plate for each of us, tortellini soup, lasagne, beef al barolo with roasted potatoes, and molten chocolate cake. Needless to say, we did not eat dinner that night.



Christmas morning. Mom & Dad each wearing new presents - Mom with her new gold necklace Dad bought her on the sly the day before, and Dad with his new scarf. Who got the better deal?





Dad opening a tie:



My stocking haul contained the usual: a People magazine, candy and scratch-off lotto cards:



Our Christmas poinsettia plant, in lieu of a tree:



Our meager present batch for Christmas morning. A far cry from our usual overindulgence of stuffed stockings and about 30 presents between the 3 of us:



Elena, the woman I live with, with the Tiffany-esque lamp I got her:



Trilli, Elena's dog, opens her presents:



She is so cute!!

Parents Visit For Christmas, Part II

We started off Monday having cappuccinos in Campo dei Fiori:



Cappuccino money shot:



Monday night we went to see a choral concert in a little church near the Pantheon. The church was beautiful and the concert was pretty good:



A "Lettere per Babbo Natale" ("Letters for Santa Claus") sign in Trastevere:



Looking at Villa Borghese, the most famous park in Rome, from the steps of the Galleria Borghese -- hands down THE most beautiful museum in Rome and probably one of the best in the world. It only has about 15 rooms total but they all have priceless masterpieces. No crap, like you'll find in most museums.



The Christmas tree at Piazza del Popolo. At first I wondered why all the xmas trees in Rome look kind of pathetic. Then I realized why - they don't use real pine trees! They use these droopy trees that look kind of Charlie Brown-sad:



View of the city from Villa Borghese:



View of Piazza del Popolo from the Pincio, a garden attached to Villa Borghese:



Inside Villa Borghese:




View of St. Peter's in the Vatican from Villa Borghese:



The Christmas Tree inside the Vatican. This one was a little less shabby:



A cool lamppost inside the Vatican:



Our little Christmas tree at my apartment. Yay!

Parents Visit for Christmas, Part I

My parents flew in Saturday Dec 20th for Christmas week. Here's the first set of pics from our giri (tours) of Roma.

Campidoglio, Musei Capitolini and views around and from Piazza Venezia:







Colosseum:



Roman forum:










Near the Quirinale, the Presidential Palace, we happened to see the Navy marching band giving a little show. From the Quirinale, below, picture of my parents with St. Peter's and Rome in the background:




Trevi Fountain:



Looking into the Pantheon from the outside:



Roman street with lights near Piazza di Spagna:



Piazza di Spagna:



In Piazza Navona:



There was a Christmas fair going on at Piazza Navona. Below, witches for sale hang from the stall ceiling:



One of the marvelous fountains in Piazza Navona:



Fair carousel:



After a long day, dinner at a little restaurant near Piazza Navona: