The train ride to Rome(Roma) was absolutely gorgeous! We passed through endless fields of cheery sunflowers, soaking in the golden rays. And of course since the train ride was a lot in Tuscany, there were many wineries and vineyards. But those beautiful sunflowers were definitely the highlight.
After a bit of wandering around and talking to some people we finally hunted down a good hotel. Still nothing yet has compared to that drop-dead-gorgeous room in Venice. Our hotel was called Palladium and was very centrally located. About a 3 minute walk away from the train and bus station and only a 15 minute stroll away from the Colosseum.
So that's just what we did the next morning. We had a nice little walk down to the Colosseum before hopping into the queue for a little while. It was really amazing, just the sheer size of it all. And the age, we mustn't forget about how old it is...2000 years it's been sitting there! It was really neat that the floor was rotted away, so you could see the underground level where the animals were kept. If you don't already know, the colosseum was a huge stadium, used for bloody battles between gladiators and wild animals and just about anything else they could come up with. It could house about 50,000 spectators. After we were done at the Colosseum we headed over to Palatine Hill, Ancient Rome's poshest neighbourhood. Once we were finished looking at the ruins of Rome's richest we dragged ourselves over to the Roman Forum, in the blazing sun. The Forum didn't disappoint, I couldn't believe how intact some of it was, we even got to see a monument dedicated to Julius Caesar, I think his ashes were there. For 2000 years old, lots of these ruins are looking very good, they sure knew how to make things last!
I bought a nice dress on our way back to the hotel, from a sidewalk shop. We had a great rest once we got back to the hotel, as we were tired from all the walking.
The following morning we made our way up to the bus station bright and early, so we could get on bus 40 to the Vatican. It was definitely a good idea to come early, because there was no waiting at all to get into the church. When we came out, the line to get in was massive. Wow! St. Peter's Basilica was definitely the most beautiful church I have ever been in (I haven't been in a whole lot...but still). There was so much to it, all the frescos and paintings and statues and separate places to pray. I definitely can't leave out the dead Popes in glass cases. I think they were replicas and the real guys were underneath the church. But my oh my, they looked real! They were all grey and shrivelled up. I'm not sure how many of them there were but I saw at least 4 of them. After we finished looking around the awe inspiring church we checked out St. Peter's Square. I still can't grasp that the Vatican is it's own country, complete even with it's postal service and military. Vatican City is the smallest country in the whole world. I think there was pretty much only enough room for a church, a museum, a square and a fancy house for the Pope to live in.
We caught the bus back to the main station grabbed our bags and got on the train to Naples.
So that's just what we did the next morning. We had a nice little walk down to the Colosseum before hopping into the queue for a little while. It was really amazing, just the sheer size of it all. And the age, we mustn't forget about how old it is...2000 years it's been sitting there! It was really neat that the floor was rotted away, so you could see the underground level where the animals were kept. If you don't already know, the colosseum was a huge stadium, used for bloody battles between gladiators and wild animals and just about anything else they could come up with. It could house about 50,000 spectators. After we were done at the Colosseum we headed over to Palatine Hill, Ancient Rome's poshest neighbourhood. Once we were finished looking at the ruins of Rome's richest we dragged ourselves over to the Roman Forum, in the blazing sun. The Forum didn't disappoint, I couldn't believe how intact some of it was, we even got to see a monument dedicated to Julius Caesar, I think his ashes were there. For 2000 years old, lots of these ruins are looking very good, they sure knew how to make things last!
The following morning we made our way up to the bus station bright and early, so we could get on bus 40 to the Vatican. It was definitely a good idea to come early, because there was no waiting at all to get into the church. When we came out, the line to get in was massive. Wow! St. Peter's Basilica was definitely the most beautiful church I have ever been in (I haven't been in a whole lot...but still). There was so much to it, all the frescos and paintings and statues and separate places to pray. I definitely can't leave out the dead Popes in glass cases. I think they were replicas and the real guys were underneath the church. But my oh my, they looked real! They were all grey and shrivelled up. I'm not sure how many of them there were but I saw at least 4 of them. After we finished looking around the awe inspiring church we checked out St. Peter's Square. I still can't grasp that the Vatican is it's own country, complete even with it's postal service and military. Vatican City is the smallest country in the whole world. I think there was pretty much only enough room for a church, a museum, a square and a fancy house for the Pope to live in.
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