I Roamed Rome

our full day in rome started with a 20 min walk to the underground and a 30 minute ride to our first stop....we had a guided walking tour of the roman forum..and the coliseum...both a major part of history...

the forum, was kind of boring...sorry.... well, it is mostly ruins, so there isnt much to see, naturally...while there you need to use your imagination alot...and imagined, it was pretty impressive at somepoint, but we were tired, it was early, and we wanted to see the coliseum.

The coliseum was impressive on many levels...it is massive, even by todays standards, was more than just a few jaded columns, and piles of marble on the ground...and best of all, we could go in and rome around...get it....ha ha.. it wouldve have been cool to see it in all its glory, as it is an impressive structure. ... i had enough group fun for the day, and decided to walk through the heart of rome, snap some photos, and make it to a break spot...

the break spot, alices pizza...amazing, best pizza ever...well almost...and it was near my next destination, the vatican..in rome, most often, they charge you by the weight of the pizza, i kept it simple, margherita pizza and a coke, and a step to sit on...i wanted to rest and get ready for my day in the holy city...and my next country...

the vatican, is the next addition to my countries visited list...it is in fact its own country, less than a square km...but impressive in many ways..besides being the home to the pope...i started off with a quick stroll through st peters square, before heading to the museum. ...the vatican museum is unreal... it took me an hour to walk through it all at a fairly brisk pace...well over a mile of hallways...i skipped most of the art, for many reasons..one there is way too much, two, every room was a piece of art in itself...i think it would take a lifetime to experience it all....the two main goals of this escapade was the last judegment painting and a well know chapel, the sistine chapel... point being, go to the vatican, experience it yourself...sooooooooooooooooo much art.....to be honest, i am shocked that the sistine chapel gets all the attention....

ive always wanted to stand and look up at the ceiling of the sistine chapel...accomplished today...it is a very impressive chapel...for those history buffs, this is the location of where the popes are elected during conclaves. ..so it was quite an amazing spot to be...considering in 2005 pope benedict was elected here... back to the ceiling...its a very crowded space naturally, everyone was in there, elbow to elbow...so it took from the enjoyment, however, i am glad i went...

from there, off to st peters basillica...it looks big from the outside, but is a lot bigger on the inside...holy cow...wow, yup.. this is the church of churches, as it should be...and it was...i am not even going to attempt to explain my experience there...i will say this though... i did do some special things there, for starters, i went to the tomb of popes...in the basement of the church, lie most of the former popes... you can walk by the tombs of them...most of them you speed by, after all, how many pious and maxes are there anyway. ..in the back corner, there is a large crowd...its the tomb of John Paul II, this was a very special experience to be at his tomb...with fellow catholics...he has a special guard, and there are dozens of roses at the foot of his tomb....second, the cupula...aka the dome, you can walk up to the top of the dome...this is no small feat..its 500+ stairs to the top...and not normal stairs..it was a struggle to fit my 6*4 frame through some of the crypt like stair cases...it was a long winding, sweaty way to the top...but it was worth it...wow, the views from the top of rome...what a post card view.... im glad i went on this trip, just cause of this day in rome... so much more to see here, but for now its time to rest... we are off to florence first thing in the morning...