Rome, Italy

The day after Naples, we arrived in Rome. So little time, so much to see.

We started our day out at the Vatican. We had hired a tour guide for a three hour tour. Thank heaven we did because Luisa kept us on track. Without her, we would have wandered aimlessly and spent the whole day here and still not seen everything that could have been seen. Luisa helped us catch the major highlights. Here is a view of the garden. St. Peter's Basilica is visible.



I took so many pictures here and I can't even begin to share them. Here though is a shot of what was once the library. Picture desk after desk of priests studying here.



The Sistine Chapel was definitely the highlight of the tour. We saw Michelangelo's beautiful ceiling and his painting of the Final Judgment. We were not allowed to take any pictures in the Sistine Chapel so I don't have any to share. But take a minute and google it and learn a bit about it. It was very impressive.

St. Peter's Basilica was closed to the public while we were here because of a commemorative event (the anniversary of the death of one of the Popes). I was disappointed we didn't get to go inside but we did take some pictures in the Piazza in front of the Basilica. We saw the Pope on the big screen outside as he was officiating.






After the Vatican, we went to a little Pizzeria by the Pantheon. Okay, this place was awesome. You walk in, select a pizza, they cut you a big old slab, weigh it, fold it up and wrap it in paper and hand it to you. It was delicious. As we sat outside eating it, I thought, "Here we are, eating pizza next to the Pantheon. How cool is this?!"



After pizza, we looked around the Pantheon. Amazing.



And I listened to this man play his violin outside. I gladly tipped him before taking his picture. This is one of my favorite photos from the day.



Then it was on to the Trevi Fountain. It was so crowded here, not at all like I had pictured it from "Roman Holiday". Dean and I did throw a coin in so hopefully, we'll be back to Rome again.



Because the day was such a whirlwind, we drove by a few other sights and then went to the Colosseum. Amazing. Outside the Colosseum...



Inside...



We were almost out of time when we exited the Colosseum but we did have a few minutes to wander around the Forum.



I so wished for more time here. Rome wasn't built in a day, it shouldn't be visited in just one day either. Again, Dean and I will have to come back someday.