Christmas in Rome

Yesterday I shared with you some of the sites we saw while visiting Germany at Christmastime.

As if that wasn’t special enough, we decided to take a side trip to Rome over the actual Christmas holiday. What a festive time to be there!

This is a picture of the group (minus my sister) taken at a cafe across from the Panethon.

The architecture in Rome is so amazing, that Christmas decorations are almost unnecessary. They were beautiful though.

Even the pizza places were lovely.

Much of Rome was closed for the days surrounding Christmas. Christmastime has a much less commercial feel than it does in the US. Still, the streets were crowded.

I love this picture of my parents. It’s part of the picture wall in my living room.

And this picture of two Italian ladies is another favorite. Apparently they ran into each other on the street. Wouldn’t you love to know what they’re saying? That’s my brother-in-law and son in the background.

More lovely Roman Christmas decorations.

This apartment balcony overlooks the Spanish Steps. Not a bad view I would say.

On Christmas Even we attended Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Although we had tickets, we still had quite a long wait outside in St. Peter’s Square, but it was all simply beautiful.

The weather was rainy, which – along with the lighting – made for some dramatic photos.

Inside St. Peter’s was breathtaking.

There really are no words for it.

This is the entrance to St. Peter’s tomb, decorated for Christmas.

We were back a couple of days later and they were taking the decorations down. I thought this numbering system was interesting.

We’re celebrating Christmas in Kansas and not in Rome this year, but these photos bring back special memories.

Merry Christmas to you wherever this finds you.