All posts by chaput@live.com

Italy

The Colosseum in Rome

One of the highlights of Rome is the Colosseum. It is considered and listed as one of the new wonders of the World.  For us this has been on our list of must see for years.  This amazing structure is 52 meters high, which is the equivalent of a 17-storey structure.

 

It is an amazing structure with the arch architectural element. There are  80 arches over four floors that creates the famous elliptical shape of the Colosseum. The history of the colosseum is quite interesting. In fact in ancient Romans times it was called ” Flavian Amphitheater” which came from the name of the imperial family Flavia.

Shelley and Ray in front of the Colosseum in Rome

We were awed by the sheer size of the pillars, arches and overall size of the colosseum.  

The inner section of the entry pillars of the colosseum

The amphitheater was a massive project and was designed to seat over 55,000 people. The amphitheater’s construction was funded with the spoils seized from the Jewish Temple after Roman crushed the Jewish Revolt of 70 AD. Stolen Jewish artifacts not only funded the building of the Colosseum, but Jewish slaves seized during the revolt built the building.

Image of the massive size of the colosseum in Rome.

At the end of the construction, the inauguration was celebrated with extraordinary games and fights that lasted 100 days. 

We were fortunate to have an in depth tour of the colosseum with access to the underground area.  A truly amazing structure and design known as the hypogeum.  It was a network of tunnels and chambers distributed in two levels where gladiators and animals were kept before appearing in the arena above.

Lower rooms and hallways of the colosseum

We walked through the underground areas and could just imagine the chaos and sounds of the gladiators, animals and people.  

We saw a recreation of the elevator type structures used to raise gladiators and animals into the colosseum arena. 

Recreation of Roman elevator system in colosseum
recreation of a cage area of elevator at colosseum

After exploring the lower level of the colosseum we went to the reconstructed section of the arena floor where gladiators would have fought. The view from the arena floor gave us a unique perspective of just what the gladiators would have seen. 

Shelley and Ray on the colosseum arena floor area.

We then explored the upper areas of the colosseum and saw the areas where over 50,000 spectators would watch the battles. Senators and the wealthy had reserved seats engraved in marble. 

View of the colosseum walls under the floor.

It was one of those pinch me moments touring the colosseum and seeing such a unique and awe inspiring historical structure. 

“afferrare la vita e non rimandare a domani cosa puoi fare oggi”

Italy

Rome Italy

Rome for over a millennium was the centre of power and controlled most of the world. It has a complex and deep history, so we decided to take some time and explore this amazing city. We walked through many of the streets that had remnants of  Roman ruins and historic sites.  We were in awe at the richness of the history.  We went to the normal tourist sites like the Trevi Fountain. It is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome. It is very impressive standing 26.3 metres high and 49.15 metres wide. This is the largest Baroque fountain in the city or Rome and one of the most famous fountains in the world.
The Trevi Fountain in Rome
Shelley and Ray in front of the Trevi Fountain
The ornate statues in the Trevi Fountain in Rome
We also went to see the Spanish Steps which climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and  by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. 
Spanish Steps in Rome

There was a police presence there and they were watching the tourist and keeping them from loitering too much or sitting down on the steps.

We of course had to walk up the 135 steps to the top. The view from the top of the Spanish Steps gave a nice view of Rome.
 
The view from the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome.
At the base of the Spanish Stairs is the  Fontana della Barcaccia .
The fountain of Barcaccia, which is fountain of the boat in Italian.
We walked to different piazzas and almost each one had amazing sites and statues. We  came to the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II which is also known as Altare della Patria meaning Altar of the Fatherland in english..
It is an amazing and impressive building located in the center of ancient Rome. 
The front of the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II

There are large statues and fountains along the building.

Side view of some of the statues at the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II
view of the Alter of the Fatherland statue as sun sets in Rome

All along the ancient centre of Rome are ruins, statues and remnants of the Roman empire.  

Shelley and Ray in front of Roman ruins
Arco di Costatino in Rome
Santa Maria Di Loreto in Rome with the Colonna Trajana in the foreground

We of course went to see the colosseum which was amazing and we will do a separate post on the colosseum. 

The colosseum of Rome
Castel San Angelo in Rome

These were beautiful and awe inspiring sites to see, but what we really enjoyed was the people and food of Rome. 

“L’esperienza è l’insegnante di tutte le cose.” – Julius Caesar

Spain

Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza

We went and explored the Palicio de la Aljafería located in Zaragoza Spain.

Shelley and Ray outside of the Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza Spain

As we approached the palace it was obvious that this was a fortified palace build several centuries ago. We went through the main gate and into a beautiful inner courtyard. There were orange trees and the smell of orange was prominent in the courtyard. 

Centre courtyard of the Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza Spain

There was an overwhelming islamic architecture design in the palace. 

From ornate islamic designed frames of doorways to unique ceilings.

Shelley in the Palace of Aljaferia checking out the islamic architecture

We soon discovered that the Palacio de la Aljafería palace was built during the second half of the 11th century in Zaragoza, Spain.  It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2001 and known for its Spanish Islamic design.

Shelley and Ray in one of the palace rooms with an ornate ceiling design

We wandered through the different rooms and were amazed by the size of the palace even the staircase was massive.

Shelley on the large staircase
One of the staircases in the Aljaferia palace

The palace reflects the amazing details and ornate design during the period attained by the Taifa of Zaragoza. This history was preserved and today the palace is home to regional parliament of Aragon. 

Parliament room in the Aljaferia palace

It was a great place to explore and learn about the rich history of Islamic influence here in Spain. 

“Muchas flores diferentes hacen un ramo”. ~ Proverbio islámico

Spain

A few days in Zaragoza Spain

We spent a few days exploring Zaragoza, which is a beautiful city located in the northeastern part of Spain. The city has a rich history and was founded at the end of the 1st century. There are Roman ruins and reminders of its rich history throughout the city.

We walked through parts of the old section of the city admiring the old architecture and beautiful plazas. 

The bullring in Zaragoza which is called MIsericordia
Central Market in Zaragoza
Tram system with view of central Market in distance

We walked through the shops and restaurants towards the main plaza enjoying the sites and sounds. There was lots of things to see and the shops were full of interesting stuff. 

Eventually we reached the Plaza de la Seo which is truly stunning and has unique features.  The ground s of the plaza were covered in beautiful marble tiles.

There was the stunning Cathedral at one section of the plaza which gave the plaza a very grandiose feel.

We explored the plaza de la Seo and were amazed at all the features and unique statues and items in the plaza.

Shelley and Ray with waterfall feature in the main plaza of Zaragoza, Spain

We bought a ticket to go up the tower of the Cathedral of Zaragoza to get views of the city.  The tower was built on the site of the ancient Roman forum of Augustus and of the main mosque. The new tower, which was designed in Rome in 1683 by Juan Bautista Contini in the Baroque style, was started in 1686 and finished in 1704 with the placement of the spire. There are elements of the minaret that form part of the current tower. 

There was an elevator that took us up to the first level of the tower. From there we took stairs which made its way up to the very top of the tower.

When we reached the top the views were amazing. We could see entire city from the tower.

View of the Roman bridge and Cathedral of Zaragoza from the tower of Zaragoza
View from the tower of Zaragoza

The city of Zaragoza surprised us with its dynamic and vibrant city centre. There were lots of unique things to see, including Roman ruins, historic sites and architecture.

“La vida es un viaje, disfruta de las aventuras en el camino”

Spain

Jaén Spain

We decided to take a trip to the Spanish city of Jaén for our anniversary. It is the capital city of the province of Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. We decided to celebrate there and stay at the Parador of Jaén on the Santa Catalina hill. It is located beside the Santa Catalina Castle and has stunning views of the entire area.

Image of the Castle of Santa Catalina

We checked into the Parador and were struck by the beauty of the building. It is considered one of the best castle hotels in Europe. There were stone features throughout the Parador and it felt as if we were going back in time.

There was an amazing vaulted ceiling in the main dinning hall which was 20 meters high.

There were many features that reflected a medieval time throughout the Parador.

Shelley at the gate at one of the Parador passageways

We arrived at our room and were amazed at the beautiful views from our room. We had our own private balcony and a nice outdoor sitting area. We decided to go hiking before settling into the balcony area.  We changed into our hiking clothes and headed out to explore the area. We went down a path along the side of the ancient fortified walls of the castle.

The remains of the ancient fortified walls of the Castle of Santa Catalina
Shelley standing on the ancient fortified wall overlooking the city of Jaén Spain.
Door arch through the fortified walls
Shelley and Ray on the ancient fortified walls of Jaén

We walked for about two hours exploring the area. There was a natural park area alongside the wall which we decided to venture into and explore. There were olive trees and a nice trail that lead along the edge of the ridge that overlooked the city below.

We came across some beautiful views of the city that stretched out below us.

After hiking through the natural area we decided to head back to the Parador and relax. We set ourselves up on our balcony with a snack and a glass of red wine. We rested and enjoyed the vistas for a while.

We rested up and then headed out to explore the city of Jaén. We walked into the city centre and explored the old city centre. 

Cathedral of Jaén, which began construction in 1570 and is one of the most important Renaissance-style cathedrals.

We walked through the marble streets looking at the unique shops and architecture. 

Marble streets in Jaén old quarter

Some of the marble streets were almost like pieces of art. They were uniquely decorated and looked like carpets or hallways.

Marble street in Jaén

There were beautiful plazas located in the centre which had fountains and highlighted by lighting.

One of the plazas in Jaén

We decided to stop for something to eat and take a break. We found a nice quaint small plaza called Plaza Posito and located in the plaza was a restaurant called “Bar Del Posito ” 

We enjoyed some great tasting tapas and the service was so friendly and attentive that we came back to this spot several times during our stay in Jaén. After enjoying some tapas we headed back to the Parador for the night.

We explored areas within the Parador and we went to the lounge area for a nightcap. Ray decided to have his photo taken with a couple of medieval knights guarding the premises.

Ray with a couple of the locals

The next day we explored the 13th century Castle Santa Catalina and the area around the Parador.  We walked through large arches and walked towards the cross of Castle Santa Catalina. 

Archway in the Castle Santa Catalina
Shelley in one of the archways of the Castle Santa Catalina

We walked along the stone walkway towards the peak area. 

Finally we reached the end of the walkway and came to the Cross of the Castle Santa Catalina.

The views from here were spectacular and we could see the entire region.

We looked down on the city of Jaén and could see the Cathedral.

View of the city from the base of the cross of Jaén

The cross which stands majestically above Jaén towers up above the landscape.

It is a monument that was erected by Ferdinand III in the spring of 1246 after overtaking the fortress. There are so many historic interesting facts about this area including the fact that Napoleon’s troops turned the fortress into a stronghold  in 1808. The cross was originally made out of wood but it is now a stone replica. 

“Que tengas un buen día”