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| Inside the Colosseum |
Sorry for the cheesy title, but I seriously had that song in my head the entire time we were in Rome.
Anywho...Brandon and I just got back from an amazing trip to Italy and Greece. I have been wanting to visit these countries for a very long time, and it took some sweet talking to get Brandon to agree, as he wanted to visit Northern Europe instead (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, etc.) But in the end, I won out and we planned a trip to visit Rome for a few days, take a train to Venice, then visit a few Greek Islands.
Rome was breathtaking! So much history, so many stories, so beautiful. While we were slightly disappointed by the Trevi Fountain, which is currently being restored, everything else was magnificent. At least I appreciate that the Roman authorities feel responsible enough to take care of their relics, just sad that we could not see the fountain in its full glory.
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| Trevi Fountain under restoration |
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| No water to throw in our coins |
We wondered around Rome on our first evening, without a map or a plan, and managed to stumble upon some of the best sites! Just a few minutes after finding the Trevi Fountain, we found the Pantheon. According to
Wikipedia, the Pantheon was built in 126AD and its dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, even though it's two thousand years old! Don't know about you, but I'm impressed.
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| Pantheon selfie! |
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| 126AD and every bit of it is still standing! |
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| Artsy shot |
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| Inside the dome |
Following our escapade through downtown Rome, we enjoyed a lovely Italian meal of pasta and fried pumpkin flowers, before heading off to bed for an early morning.
We purposely woke up very early the next morning so we could visit the Colosseum with few visitors to get better pictures (and to try and beat the heat!). It was worth it, because our pictures are amazing. Seeing the Colosseum for the first time was really breathtaking for me.We took the metro from our hotel, because the monument was on the other side of town. When you walk out of the 'Colosseo' metro station, the historic building stands directly in front of you, and surprises you with its grandeur and breadth. That is the third time this year I have felt that surprise of finally seeing a building I have only ever seen in pictures, for the first time in person. (The first was when I walked out of Westminster station and saw Big Ben standing directly in front of me, and the second was when I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time, while on the metro coming out of a tunnel over the Seine River). Anyway, here are some pictures of the Colosseum, we literally took hundreds, so here are some of my favorites:
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| The view from the Metro station |
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| Inside |
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| Where the audience would sit |
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Later that day we visited the Vatican City, the smallest recognized independent country in the world by both area and population. After waiting in a line for 45 minutes, we got to visit St. Peter's Basilica, which is the most decorated and opulent church I have ever seen. The Roman Catholics definitely wanted to show off their wealth when it was built. Later in the evening we visited to Vatican museums, during their special Friday late night hours, and saw Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (no pictures are allowed within the chapel, but here are some pictures of our visit to the Vatican).
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| St. Peter's Basilica |
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| St. Peter's Square |
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| Inside St. Peter's Basilica |
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| St. Peter's by night |
Overall, I was so mesmerized by Rome and all it had to offer. The city is steeped in history and everywhere you turn you find Roman ruins and beautiful architecture. In the next blog post, we will share stories and pictures from our cruise to Greece and Montenegro.
