When in Rome.......
Trip Start
May 11, 2006
1
16
28
Trip End
Jul 12, 2006
I am in the eternal city, Rome, and it is amazing! The bustling city is mixed in with ancient ruins everywhere. The first day here we went to the Vatican and got to see many things such as the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's paintings of The School of Athens and Transfiguration, and many other works of art and artifacts. The sistine chapel must be the best work of art in the world, done by Michaelangelo on a flat ceiling the images seem lifelike and make the ceiling look like it has depth instead of being flat. We also went to St. Peter's Basilica which was equally impressive because of its massive size! Micaelangelo's pieta is also in St. Peter's and although you cannot get very close to it for security reasons it is a beatuiful sculpture. Yesterday we explored the ruins of ancient Rome including the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, The Roman Forum, the Pantheon, etc.!! The Colosseum is very impressive! Some people say that when they see it they are not that impressed as it is not as big as they would have thought, however I thought that it was a massive stadium and very impressive, expecially at night! The Pantheon was also very neat, the largest dome in Europe with a huge opening in the middle that is open to the sky and lets in a beautiful ray of light! We walked around the various ruins for hours trying to take it all in. After having our fill of ruins we walked to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi fountain, where I had the best Gelato(ice cream) that I have ever had. Today I decided to sleep in and have a nice day of rest. Tomorrow we are going to explore the city of Pompeii and possibly some of its beaches! Ciao
