Our Roman Holiday

Rome truly is the eternal city. It is amazing that new buildings stand only feet away from the Coluseum, which is 10 times older than our country. We arrived in Rome exhausted, but were refreshed by the feeling of awe at seeing so many amazing sights in one city. After checking in at our hotel, we went straight to the Coluseum, only to find that it had already closed for the day. We were disappointed, but only for a moment, as we found a cafe directly across the street which offered spetacular food and an unbeatable view. The next morning we woke up early and headed to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. St. Peter's was crowded with throngs of tourists, but the lines moved quickly and we found it to be well worth the short wait. After that we toured the Vatican Museum and the Sistene Chapel. We were surprised to find that the Sistene Chapel isn't a separate church, but rather one of the many rooms on display in the Vatican museum. In fact, I didn't realize that I was in it until I saw the sign on the wall. I was expecting a traditional church with pews, a pulpit, and a giant painting of the final judgment. Instead, the Sistene Chapel is one of many rooms that are on display in the vatican. It is incredibly opulanet, and every surface of the wall and ceiling are covered with paintings by Michaelangelo. The Final Judgement is only a small part of the entire room, and though not what I expected, it was more impressive as a part of a whole than alone. We then wandered across the Tiber River to see the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and my favorite, the Trivi Fountain. We threw our coins into the fountain to ensure a return trip to this beautiful city. (Actually we threw in two. The first time we just threw them in and since you are supposed to do it over your shoulder we threw in a second coin each just to be sure.) We finished off the evening with some gelato and walk through the city at night. Our last day we went back to the Coluseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum for a look at ancient Rome. All in all we spent four nights in the city, more than we spent anywhere else, and yet it wasn't enough. The feeling of the city is infectious. I even convinced Leon to watch the old movie Roman Holiday with me. :)

Rome