Rome had so much history to learn about and so many ruins and historical buildings around the city. Everywhere we turned there was another beautiful building to take a picture of. Eli decided that umbrella trees (pictured below) are now his favorite trees. We had about a 20 minute walk from the metro when we arrived off of the speed train. The first few pics were the sights we saw. We decided to stay in Trastevere, a fun place with a lot of restaurants.
That afternoon, we enjoyed a guided tour through the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. It was so, so hot that day, that we spent a lot of it trying to down a ton of water before we would sweat it out. The Roman Forum was so cool and there was a lot to see.
This arch was created for King Tiberias.
This was interesting that the columns in front used to be a part of a temple and the church inside was built in there around 1,000 years later! They wanted to remove the columns (because the temple was to pagan gods) and tried with chains (you can see the marks), but the columns used to be underground and they couldn't make them budge. Instead, they built the church inside.
This is where Julius Caesar died and was cremated.
These statues were dedicated to the Vestal Virgins and was where their house was. The Vestal Virgins were hand selected priestesses that were the most powerful women of Rome.
The colosseum was in Eli's top three of things to see in Italy.
This started our underground tour where the gladiators stayed and the animals were caged.
During the time when they would flood the colosseum, this was where the water source came from.
You can see two animal cages in this pic (one on top of another).
Here is a recreation of what they would put the animal in and then raise it up to the ground floor to release.
All of this is what supported the floor that is no longer there (the next two pics). Our guide said they are considering rebuilding the wooden floor so that we can see what it was like. It would have been VERY dark and damp for the gladiators down here.
They recreated the seats shown in this picture with actual pieces they had found. A lot of the marble and stone in the colosseum was taken and used in homes throughout different time periods. Our guide said that some would find pieces to this day on other buildings around the city.
On our walk back to our hotel, we got to see many wonderful structures in Rome.
That evening we went and ate in Trastevere.
We picked a very popular and top rated restaurant---therefore we had to wait well over a half an hour to get in. We enjoyed a roasted artichoke and some yummy pizza and pasta.
The next day, we went to the Vatican (pictured at the very bottom), so these pics are actually from our 3rd day in Rome. We saw the Spanish steps, the Trevi fountain (so beautiful!!), toured the Pantheon, saw the foot of Isis and ate at the Piazza Novona.
This is Raphael's grave and memorial to him.
THE VATICAN
We took a bus to the Vatican and hit up St. Peter's Basilica (largest church in the world) early in the morning to avoid the lines. Our tickets for the Vatican museum weren't until 10:00am. We didn't have to wait at all and walked right in to the basilica! The church was beautiful. I was sad that I couldn't find Michelangelo's Pieta after I walked through the whole church, so I went and asked the security guard where it was. He told me that the area was covered up by curtains because the Pope was going to lead mass the next day. He then let me sneak into that area and gave me 2 minutes to see it. I had asked the right person with the right authority! Score!
We then had a guided tour of the beautiful Vatican museum. The ceilings, artwork and floors were simply amazing.
These three pieces (above and two below) were inspiration to artists like Michelangelo.
This is one of the tapestries that used to hang in the Sistine chapel on different occasions.
Looking out the window to part of the gardens (we didn't go there).
These are Raphael's rooms that he painted. I did not realize that he died at 37 years old. His most famous works are usually considered these in the Vatican. The second photo is probably the most popular.
There were a lot of original floors in the Vatican museum.
This was the walk up the stairs to the Sistine chapel. I was so excited to finally get to see it!
We couldn't take pictures inside, but I snapped pics of my postcards to show what it looked like. It was truly amazing to see it in person. I loved learning about and seeing the painting of the Last Judgement. Michelangelo painted the ceiling and the Last Judgement and other artists did the lower sides.
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