A Shift from Rome - The January Storm on the Corniche

We were all ready to go back to work on January 7th when a storm decided to come in. School was cancelled for 3 days. It was cold here by Lebanese standards but I can tell you, the thunder and lightning as well as the torrential rain can be impressive here. Since the drainage in Beirut is not like Seattle, when storms hit, the many tunnels in the city tend to really flood thus one of the reasons for school being cancelled.  While the storm was starting to hit, Tim and I decided to go see what was going on at the Corniche. We arrived to major traffic jams. People were just double parking to take a look. This included buses. Everyone was taking pictures and smiling and impressed. Here are some pictures from that early evening.

This was the first area we saw.  Can you imagine what the waves looked like inside the building?

The waves would completely roll over the dock.

As you can see, the water would just crash up the wall.

A little further down. The radio tower is on the AUB beach which was pretty much completely covered with water.

This little garbage can on a cement block base was not knocked over not by people but by the waves.

These are waves I would expect to see along the Washington State coastline, not along the Corniche in Beirut

As we walked further, the waves were more impressive. Airplanes were flying around in circles above us because it was difficult to land at the airport.

The water on the Corniche was from the waves. It was not raining at this point at all. 

If you walked through where it was wet you were taking a risk. Some of these people choose poorly.

This picture and the next one were Tim's favorites to take. Remarkably, the man did not get wet!

On the way home we took a picture of the minaret of our neighborhood Mosque right by the water.

The next day, I went for an early walk (since school was cancelled....Again!) and ended up with some nice pictures as well. Some of these I've posted on facebook already but for those who don't have facebook here they are again.

This is a small marina on the Corniche. All of the boats were taken out of the water.

I love this picture. The Lebanese flag is still flying strong. I saw it as a symbol of there determination to keep their country at peace with respect and dignity.

The guy sitting in front of me when I took this got soaked by the last wave.

Castel Sant'Angelo Rome, Part 2

The first day we were at Rome we arrived late afternoon and decided to just walk around the neighborhood we were in. As we walked down our street for a few blocks we started to see some trees in the distance and thought, "hmmm, green space??". We went around the corner and there it was, a castle! Immediately, Delaney wanted to go! It was quite crowded and so we decided that we would go on a day we could get there early when it opened. Two days later we arrived to find we were there 15 minutes before it opened.  This was quite the find! I would recommend looking around Castel Sant'Angelo to anyone going to Rome.

We got there so early we walked on the bridge across from it (Tiber River)

Along the bridge were these beautiful angels. There were probably 12 of them in total.

Obviously this was not only my favorite but the seagulls favorite as well.

Another view of the castle with an angel.

Just before we went in, Tim took this picture.

The inside of the castle was not what we expected. It was very open with a lot of walkways around it.

Here we are one level up from the ground. The views were beautiful no matter what level you were on.

A part of the inner wall.

Here is a view of the bridge we were on.

A view of the ground level from above. Notice the piles of cannonballs.

These were everywhere.

Love how the cannon is sticking out and there is the space to use your crossbow or gun.

This was pretty cool!

A view from higher up.

I found this sculpture to be interesting with the wings

The Capitol area in the distance and what the locals call "the Wedding Cake" building. Two giant metal sculptures of the Goddess Nike on top.

Not only was this a castle but it used to be the apartments for the Pope. In fact there is a long raised aqueduct looking walkway for the Pope to travel along if there is any reason for him to leave the Vatican. Here are some pictures inside the castle. There were the Pope's Apartments and a nice museum. It is also the Mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian.

When you first go in there is this inner walkway that swirls up and down the castle.

It also goes all the way around it.

As always, I find myself looking up. This is the ceiling in one of the Pope's rooms.

While the painting was not clear I found it pretty interesting that they painted this on a door.

This beautiful piece of art was on one of the walls.

I took a picture of this harpsichord (I'm pretty sure it's a harpsichord) for my Dad. It was in the Pope's bedroom.

Another narrow walkway up to another area of the museum

This was in the museum as well.

Being a book lover, I was fascinated with this collection. It is a list of all of the Italians who died during World War 1.

A military drum.

Some of the many weapons on display.

And more weapons.

There were quite a few pieces of armor.

At the very top was the Archangel Michael. It was quite stunning.

Another great view.

Overall, this was a great day even though it was cold. Delaney says it was her favorite place to see in Rome.