Rome
Trip Start
Jun 28, 2008
1
21
27
Trip End
Aug 29, 2008
Rome,
Lazio,
Italy
Friday, August 8, 2008
Another camp ground but I have to say these are not really camp grounds as they are actually cleaner than some of the other accomodation I have stayed at! I ran into a girl that I had met in Berlin and then met all of the people she was hanging around with so Rome will be friend filled adventures... always better then on your own.
August 9, 2008:
Today a group of 5 of us ventured into town for a Vatican city walking tour. By 11 am it was already over 30 and because all of the streets are black our tour guide said it will just get hotter as the day goes on because they hold the heat in the city with no tall buildings. Our tour guide was a very dynamic American student who really knows her history. There is so much here in Rome it is unbelievable how much happened here. We started at the bridge of Angels; each angel depicting the story of Christ. The views of the city are unbelievable from here. We walked up to the Vatican which is massive and you could probably spend days there and still not see everything.
We got to bypass the long lines...always worth the price of the tour and headed into the Vatican. I saw the Sistine chapel which in and of it's self is astounding but the fact that Michael Angelo painted it by candle light leaning backwards makes it even more phenominal. Just standing there looking at the Fresco for 10 minutes was painful I can't imaging years. I suppose that's why he was left blind and crippled after completing it. The science behind the plaster and paint colours is also quite crazy and the fact that he was able to complete it without mistakes... WOW. No pictures though...
After the chapel we went to St. Peter's Basilica which has more than 4 tons of gold on the roof. Rubbed the foot of Jesus and climbed a million stairs up to the top of the dome for an amazing view of the entire city of Rome. The sore legs were worth it. We climbed back down all of the steps into the caticombs below where Pope John Paul II is burried.
One of the girls and I headed back into town around 8:30 and went wandering. We found the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps and got some good shots of both. We through our change into the fountain which means we will return to Rome one day which is good because as Rome wasn't built in a day you can't see it all in a day either.
August 10, 2008:
Today the same group plus a couple Kiwi girls went on the Walking Tour. This tour was about 5 hours again and we walked through Rome to all of the main attractions. Finishing of course at the Coloseum. The best part of guided tours through busabout is the lack of being an obvious tour group with the leader with the umbrella! We saw tons of ruins and got quite the history lesson from the guide. We went for lunch at a little Italian mom and pop restaurant on one of the side streets and it was relatively cheap and very good. I have put a lot of km on my flip flops and with the amount of hills and stairs I have climbed I should have no problem running up the stairs at home.
August 11, 2008:
Laundry day... not that you all need to know that but that is what I did today besides lazing around by the pool. Tomorrow we are venturing to Pompei which should be awesome. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BARB AND MITCH!
