Marco Polo Vatican Rome

Started off the morning with a tour of the Vatican with Argiletum Tours. Got to the link up point 45 minutes early because the metro system here is easier to use than the one in Paris. It is kind of dirty outside the Vatican. The Carabineri police are outside as guards and thier uniforms are pretty sharp. Police seem to be everywhere in Rome! My tour met outside but stop 49 in front of the Vatican museum entrance. We first went through the museum ...

... way to St Peter's Square where our eyes were first drawn to the long line where we later found out it was to get into the Basilica atrium. Decided against the long line up and headed to get some Italian gelato. Yum it was amazing and even better then home. I want some now just typing this up. Took the metro to see the Spanish steps, where there was a ton of people and clowns for some reason. We never did find out why they were there, but ...

What a blast!!! If any of you ever have the opportunity - HOP ON A SEGWAY! They are fantastic, fun, exciting, fun, entertaining and, have a guess, FUN. We had a tour of Rome at night which included the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps etc and we were the entertainment and photo opportunity for all the tourists and Italians....they loved us.....not that we noticed (much) because we were having the time of our lives. The fabulous Fabio (our tour guide) was a master of Segways and ...

... acceptable. The reason behind it is that he had a vision while he was entering Rome to face his competition on the battlefield to see who would be the ruler of Rome. And he had a dream that told him to conquer in the name of this. The "this" was a cross and he had no idea what it symbolized or even that it was religious but he put the mark on all his army's clothes and shields and he was victorious so then he found out its meaning and then decided to make Christianity legal. He did ...

... there negated the full effect of the buildings. The Basilica was amazing though, its the largest church ive been in (i think its the largest church in europe), and you can tell how hug and influencee the Catholic church had in ancient times. The second day here Rama came down from Florence to see us for a day; so basically the whole group got back together again in Rome. We saw the Colosseum and the ancent city, as well as wandered around ...

... I saw a lizard, tried to take a photo but it was very camera shy. From there I walked around very aimlessly, saw Monumento a Vittorio Emmaunele the 2nd, saw a bunch of other things as well but not sure what they were, also saw a statue of Julius Caesar. I walked to Via del Corso which is a street here that people do some major shopping on, I stopped in and out of shops but never actually bought anything. HOWEVER I did have a gay man hit on me and try to get me naked, I was trying on some ...

Travel Log "Wait a minute, what did you just say?" I got an internship with Contiki Holidays and they are sending me to Italy "So you're going to Italy by yourself?" Yep, but it's in a group of like 40 other young people "But you don't have to do any work?" Nope, I just have to experience the trip for myself "I don't know how you fall into this stuff, but you always find someway to win at life" I could hardly believe it myself, but I was going to Europe for the second time in ...

... the most interesting thing in the Museum is the huge parts of the colossus of Constantine. The Colossus of Constantine was a colossal acrolithic statue of Constantine the Great (c. 280-337 AD) that once occupied the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius in the Forum Romanum in Rome. Portions of the Colossus now reside in the Courtyard. I love the huge "I'm number 1" hand and the huge foot. We ...

... through. We finally reach the Chapel... it's dimly lit (don't even think of taking a picture) and crowded with tourists just walking around, staing upwards. Even in minimal lighting, the colors are bright and the muscular figures seem to jump out at you. I can only imagine how much darker the images were before all the advanced restorations. I just want to stay and try to take everything in, but we are ushered out before long. We stop for pizza ...

... is a bit miffed at us, since we, as suspicious Americans, mistrusted him when he offered to sell us laundry tokens when we tried to use the token machine. Well, how were we to know he worked there? Later, he gets into an altercation with a man who wants to do his laundry just before closing time, but luckily our clothes are done, so we escape before seeing if they actually come to blows. Ristorante le Fontacine is hung with paintings, but it is more fun to look at the open ...