Roma - Day 2

Today we started out a little bit late since we were all tired from traveling the day before. We still made it out to the Colosseum by 10:00 am. We took the metro and ended up right next to the Colosseum. It was huge! I was amazed at how large it was and all of the different levels and rooms and pathways it had. It was amazing to see the columns close up and all of the walls with plants growing out of them. Outside the Colosseum there were people dressed up as Roman soldiers which added to the experience somewhat.

After visiting the Colosseum we went to the Forum. This is an area where they have a bunch of arches and pillars that have been uncovered. It was incredible to see the different structures and how intact most of them still were. This used to be the heart of Rome. There were a wide variety of buildings, churches and gardens. There was actually a grove of orange trees there along with some palm trees which made the area seem very tropical. There were poppies all over, growing up between rocks and in fields. They made everything seem even more beautiful.

After the Forum we went to the Vatican City. We walked through the Sistine Chapel and the museum before it. The artwork that adorns the walls and ceilings is unbelievable! There is so much detail and ornamentation. While the chapel itself was beautiful, the many rooms leading up to it had artwork that was more stunning to me. A lot of the paintings on the ceilings was meant to look like molding with artwork inside. After looking at it for a little bit you could figure out that it was painted rather than real, however it was extremely well done.

The thing that impressed me the most about the Sistine Chapel was the size. Every inch of the wall and ceiling seemed to be painted with ornate murals. In any room that would be awesome to see, but the chapel ceiling is 68 feet high! I can’t even imagine trying to paint on that!

We walked out of the chapel and into St. Peters Basilica. Words cannot even describe this building. It is full of statues and paintings and gold plated ornamentation. The chapels are exquisite! I don’t know how I would focus on a meeting in this place. The whole thing is rather overwhelming. Every inch of the building is decorated in some way. There are huge Corinthian and Ionic stone pillars with very detailed designs.

From the Basilica we walked into St. Peter’s square. We actually saw it earlier this morning but the Pope was visiting at the same time so it was extremely crowded and we decided to come back later. The whole thing is incredible to see. The “walls” of huge pillars surrounding the square was one of my favorite parts. It was simple yet stunning.

The walk from the Vatican City to the Pantheon was quite scenic. We shopped for souvenirs and ate more Gelato. Our flavors this time were: Pineapple, Mango, Chocolate, Banana, Strawberry, and Melon. Pretty normal flavors, but very delicious. By this time our feet were getting sore so we had to get some gelato in us to give us more energy for the rest of the walk. Along the way we walked down quite a few alleys with brightly colored walls and flowers hanging over the balconies. It seemed like every where we turned there was something to take a picture of.

Just before we got to the Pantheon we stopped in Piazza Navona. This seemed to be the area where all the local artists displayed and sold their work. If I had tons of money and a way to get it home I would have bought one of the large oil paintings. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous some of them were! The colors were so vivid and the landscapes and cityscapes in the paintings were beautiful.

When we visited the Pantheon today we went inside (it was closed last night). It was similar in nature to St. Peter’s Basilica, although not nearly as ornate. It was still very interesting though. The thing that caught my attention was the large opening at the top of the dome. It let in light for the building, but if it rained, it seems like the marble floor would have been a little slippery.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Trevi fountain again for enough time that Brianna and I threw in a coin and made a wish. I’d tell you what I wished for, but then it wouldn’t come true! We also bought a couple scarves and ties at the vendor by Pinocchio.

We ate dinner at the Termini (the central metro and train station). I had a delicious pasta with some sort of red sauce, much like a typical spaghetti sauce. It was so good, but I was pretty tired so I’m sure just about anything would have tasted good. We walked around a couple shops and then headed back to the Hotel for rest and relaxation. We saw quite a bit today and definitely did a lot of walking, about 2953 steps to be exact.