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Friday 13 November 2015

A Roman adventure - part 8

It was the final morning in Rome, Heidi, Laura and Clemence the bear were all packed and ready to travel home.
Heidi, Laura and Clemence with their bags. Clemence was a bit annoyed that he and Heidi did not go on any of the outings with Laura, they had to be content with seeing the photos.
There was time for one more short outing after she had officially checked out of the hotel (leaving the bags in a locked room).  Near Termini Station in Rome are the ruins of the baths of Diocletian - part of the complex was converted into a church by Michelangelo, part of the buildings are now a national museum.  Laura decided to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.  Another church with an immensely impressive interior.
Santa Maria degli Angeli has a large pipe organ in one wing of the church 
It wasn't nearly as big as St Peters, however like St Peters, Santa Maria degli Angeli had marble floors, enormous columns, capitals and decorated arches
After visiting Santa Maria degli Angeli Laura and her girl walked around the outside of the baths of Diocletian which is now a museum, there wasn't time to visit the museum however she found the gardens.
The gardens alongside the baths of Diocletian had lots of Roman statues and funeral monuments
It also had an enormous fountain - an ancient Krater in the centre formed the fountain - it was one of only 2 still remaining  in Rome apparently.  There were goldfish in the pond and Laura and her girl enjoyed dabbling their fingers in the water.
A pussy cat was living in the garden, Laura was amused when she found it sitting on one of the funeral monuments
 Soon it was time to collect suitcases and catch the Leonardo Express train back to the airport.  The train was very modern and included a display screen showing the progress along the route.
Roma Termini to Fiumicino airport
On the train Laura said goodbye to Rome
Laura watched out of the window as the train approached the airport
Laura was very satisfied with her holiday in Rome, she had seen some wonderful places and done some very interesting, fun things during her 5 days in the ancient centre of the Roman empire.

(see also Part 1 of Laura's adventures in Rome, Part 2 when Laura visited the Palatine HillPart 3 when Laura explored the Roman Forum, Part 4 when Laura discovered the Colosseum, Part 5 when she explored the narrow streets of Rome, Part 6 when Laura visited Vatican City and Part 7 when Laura visited Ostia Antica)

1 comment:

Ginger said...

How nice that Laura and her girl were able to squeeze in a visit before leaving for the airport. What an impressive church and the grounds are interesting too. I wondered if the cat was keeping an eye on the resident goldfish! A very interesting place to visit. The train ride to the airport is also scenic and it gives you time to pause and think about the many experiences during your lovely five day trip to Rome! I have thoroughly enjoyed your series of posts and want to thank you so very much for sharing the beautiful photographs and the many detailed descriptions. I know that this took your time while traveling and I am very grateful to you to be able to follow along with Laura and her girl while in Rome. :) xxx