The forgotten holiday

We had a really lovely holiday in Florence, Rome and Pompeii during July, but when the bombs in London went off 3 days before we were coming back to the UK we spent most of our time letting people know that we are OK rather than sending our holiday snaps out. So, belatedly, here are some of our pics:

Here is a picture of the Duomo (cathedral) in Florence. Our hotel was right near the square it was in. It was quite amazing, bright white during the day while the afternoon and evening light brought out the darker green colours.

And here's the beautiful view from the Ponte Vecchio bridge across the main river through Florence.

To the left is the view from the hills in Florence looking down on the town.

Some of ruins just in the middle of a street in Rome. When we were wondering around we kept stumbling across such amazing sights.

Left is the view from the top of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The walk up to the top is long, hot and claustrophobic at times but well worth it in the end - the view, as you can see, is spectacular.

The next two pictures, right and below right, are inside St Peter's Basilica which was far and away the most amazing of all the churches we went to.

To the left is the Colleseum in Rome. It is amazing to find it and the Roman Forum right in the middle of a street.

The Roman Forum as the sun sets. The ruins are remarkably intact for something that old and are proof that the Romans really just didn't bother building anything small.

Some of the amazing frescos in the galleries surrounding the Sistine Chapel.

More frescos near the Sistine Chapel.

James in the hot ruins of Pompeii