Roma and the Vatican

For our second day in Italy we traveled to a little known city called quaintly in Italian "Roma" . Ok ok everyone knows about Rome. The home of the Roman Empire, the city Paul called home, The Colliseum, the Forum, The Pantheon, The Pizza! Hey I'm hungry give me a break ;)

I will start off by telling you that Ryan was a miracle. This trip was around 9 hours long and he was a true champion. Thanks buddy!





We took about 8 million pictures in Rome. Most of them of the colliseum, you see it as you drive around and it really sums up all of Rome up for me. So much history here and it really feels like you are standing in the shadow of an ancient civilization. With that said, I'm going to get right into the good stuff.



We had a crazy italian tourguide with a stick that she waved at us when she wanted our attention. It was covered with a red scarf and if you saw it bobbing in the distance you knew you better hurry up or get left behind! (She meant business, she almost left one lady behind because she got lost).

We saw some cool stuff while driving around that I don't remember the name of.



We saw some ruins of the ancient city. Everytime they dig here they come up with something new. They don't have any type of subway because everytime they start in one part of the city they run into something ancient and have to try digging elsewhere.



Here is a monument depicting the Rise of the Roman Empire. If you look on the left you can see a tiny white speck that is Rome. If you look on the far right you can see almost all of the world at that time was under Roman control.



And finally we caught a peek of the Colliseum! The first side you see is the one that they don't show on TV. It was damaged by an earthquake and the marble has fallen off the outside and it has began to fall apart.



The other side of the building is much more magnificent.



And a great family photo opportunity!

After the colliseum the tour bus stopped and let us all out at a cute little Italian restaurant.

We were suprised by a large piece of lasagna and tasty fresh bread with delicious butter. We drank some wine and just as we were ready to pull our stuffed-selves out of our chairs they brought out a second course. Veal cutlets and fresh green beans. The lasagna it turns out was just an appetizer! We stuffed as much of that down as we could and then they brought out a salad with crisp lettuce and a delicious homemade dressing. At this point we knew that Tiramisu must be coming and we weren't disappointed. I tried this delicious coffee dessert two or three times in Europe and was pleased to discover that it isn't as heavily "boozed" as most of the tiramisu I've had in the states.



Sleepily we loaded back on the bus and headed towards Vatican City. We really didn't know what to expect. We aren't Catholic and mostly thought we'd just be seeing another neat church.



Here is a picture of the line outside to see St. Peter's Basilica



Of course it started to rain as we were in the middle of that line.



Above is a picture of the Vatican Guards at work. Their outfits were originally designed by Michelangelo and they still wear the exact same uniform today.

I was not expecting to have any religious experiences inside St. Peters. I knew I'd be impressed but we were overwhelmed. This is the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Notre Dame in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London don't even begin to compare. As we were standing there looking at a sculpture that Michelangelo made when he was 24, his first masterpiece and you look around knowing that the bones of Peter the most beloved disciple are buried right below you it's hard not to get a little choked up.



My pictures of this amazing place did not turn out. I did make a small video which doesn't look too bad so I will post it as it's own blog. I was very impressed and even for a brief second considered converting.

All in all Rome and the Vatican were amazing. We loved every minute and definitely recommend it as a vacation spot.