And talk about a beautiful view:
That night we went to bed early so we could wake up and enjoy the day. Our first stop? The Colosseum, of course! We walked about 10 minutes before we set sights on it:
We waited in line for about 40 minutes, and 11 euros later we got to go in! It was a minor price to pay for such a beautiful historical landmark, but I would have appreciated it if Italy gave out discounts to International Students. We walked around and got some great pictures!
This was a sculpture that was excavated from the Colosseum from 2008-2009. They are still finding artifacts to this day. How cool is that? It made me want to pull an Indiana Jones, grab my hat and whip, and go exploring. Alas I would probably be arrested if I hopped the boundary line, so I decided to stay on my best behavior.
Now of course we wanted some photos. We paid the 11 euros and wanted our stereotypical photos. It was a bit crowded, and Meg managed to capture these gems:
But no worries after a bit we managed to get some good ones:
After shenanigans in the Colosseum we walked to the Roman Ruins, which are right beside the Colosseum.
Got a snap of this little guy before he scurried away.
Just look how beautiful that is!
The next day we took a trip to the Vatican, which is a city in and of itself. It is the smallest internationally recognized state both in terms of land area and population. Thankfully we got tickets ahead of time. The line to get in was like Disney line long. Because we got them ahead of time we got to bypass the line. Woohoo! We were able to go in the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican Museums house some of the world's most precious artifacts that have been collected by the Roman Catholic Church (although I question how fairly these items were collected over the years). I got some good pictures of my favorite items in the Museums. Then we went to the Sistine Chapel whose celling was painted by the one and only Michelangelo. Now unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside the chapel seeing as how it's a holy place and all. But take my word for it, it's beautiful. Bucket list --> check!
The view looking out from Vatican City.
This statue depicts Arno the river god. If you look closely you can see a tiger in the vase. The tiger is thought to mean that the statue was known as the River Tigris of Ancient Mesopotamia.
Peek-A-Boo!
This tapestry, The Death of Julius Caesar, depicts exactly what its name suggests: the death of Julius Caesar. This originated in Brussels in 1549. The tapestry is huge and was nearly impossible to get a picture of the whole thing, so I captured the good part for you guys. Below you'll see poor Julius being assassinated.
One of my favorite parts of the Vatican museums was the Gallery of Maps, which again is exactly what it sounds like. This hallway contains topographical maps of Italy. This hallway is so extravagantly decorated that it took three years to complete. I could have spent all day in this Gallery alone.
Here are some other parts of the Museums that I particularly enjoyed:
Ha just look at the face on this painting. She's not impressed. I love it.
Thus concluded my trip to the Vatican. Another Bucket List item checked off!
Later that afternoon we wandered to Piazza di Spagna, which is one of the most famous squares in Rome. As you can see it was a popular place to visit, and a beautiful sight to see!
These pics were taken in an area a little down from the Piazza di Spagna. So beautiful!
Rome was a blast, but I have to admit I do not think I would enjoy it for more than a couple days. It's a big city and very crowded, especially with tourists. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. So many cool things to see, but as for the city and the overall atmosphere, Florence takes the cake. Stay tuned for details of Pisa and Florence, two more amazingly beautiful Italian cities.
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