A view of the Duomo in Florence from near our campsite.
Outside of the Colosseum.
Ryan on the lower level of the Colosseum. We both took souvenir pieces of brick from the ground here.
Me on the upper level of the Colosseum.
Part of Ancient Rome, near the Roman Forum. The top would be part of Palatine Hill, and in the bottom right is part of the senate where Caesar would have spoken.
The day we did the Colosseum we also went and saw the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it that if you throw one coin into the water, you are ensured a quick return to Rome. If you throw two - you are granted a wish. Naturally, I threw two.
Yesterday, we headed off to the Vatican City to have our 4 hour guided tour of the Vatican Museums. When we arrived the lineups were horrendously long - spanning almost a kilometer (we think). By the time our tour started the lineups were a lot smaller, and we got in relatively quickly. At the front of the lineup, Ryan hopped out of the line to grab us a couple of waters from a street vendor. When he tried to hop back in, the Vatican security guards would not let him back, and after some begging he was told to go to the back of the line. He eventually budged in front with some people who saw it happen and let him back, but the tour group was concerned...
Ryan outside the Vatican church.
Me with the Vatican Obelisk.
Apparently this is one of the 10 most famous statues in the world. They are not sure if it is the original, and part of an arm was discovered long after finding the statue.
At the end of the tour of the museum we made our way to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. There was a lot of buildup to it, and we learned about what each of the frames represent and when they were created. You are not supposed to take pictures inside, but we managed to get one of the ceiling.
Overall it was a very impressive tour, and the museum would not have been the same without the guide (we probably would have gotten lost). After the tour we went to the church and watched a bit of the 5pm mass, and saw a few more statues and things.
Our tour guide mentioned that the Pope makes an appearance Wednesdays at 10am in the Popemobile. We plan on seeing him tomorrow morning, hopefully we can get a picture or two, but it will probably be busy.
Today we are off to see the Spanish Steps, some shopping, and the Pantheon. Tomorrow we check out, but have the day to kill as we are catching a night train (around midnight) to Brindisi, where will catch a morning ferry to Corfu to start our Greece visit.
3 comments:
You must be getting tired of hearing this but ... awesome photos of the places you've been and the things you've seen. It must be fascinating to see your elementary school studies of the Roman Empire come to life!! Guess you were due for a church visit to seek divine 'forgiveness' for all your illicit photos (Mona, David & the Sistine Chapel), stealing stones from the Colosseum ... and of course all the drunken mayhem! The adventure continues ...
WOW! Awesome pictures. Rome and all of Italy sure seem great. Hard to believe it is almost a month since you guys left. You sure have crammed a lot of living into 4 weeks. Keep up the great commentary and pictures - it allows us to follow the adventure. Ciao.
You took the words right out of my mouth m&d on the illicit pictures but don't forget the line budging behind the Pope's security back! Too funny. Gotta' be some WANTED posters out there somewhere!
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