When in Rome, do like the Romans!
Trip Start
Nov 27, 2006
1
31
53
Trip End
May 08, 2007
Rome,
Italy
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Hello everyone. We have spent the last 5 days in Italy's capital. The shopping is classssy and the food more expensive than the south, but it's all too worth it. Our first day we visited the world's smallest country, the Vatican City. Saint Peter's basilica was my highlight; it's the biggest church in the world! But the whole thing is decorated with optical illusions so it doesn't feel as big as it is. We acutally managed to get a free tour of the basilica! An Amercan preacher guy was giving free tours; it was so fasinating because he really knew his stuff. We saw the Sistine Chapel too, but it was sooo crowded and there wre security guards yelling "SHHH!" every 5 minutes (ironic?) so it wasn't all that peaceful.
The Colosseum was something else. We actually did pay for a tour of this one, didn't want to miss out on all the information
A Lovely Stance
! What amazed me was how they built such a huge and complex structure with only the use of man power...WOW. There were holes everywhere, however, where in later years builders took bits of iron and marble to make new palaces, etc. We also got a tour of the Palestine Hill, which as the legend states was where Romulus decided to create the city if Rome (after killing off his twin brother in order to be the "chosen one". Yup, a true baby of a she-wolf that one...). Just down from this hill is the old "town square" called the Roman Forum, which was the centre of political, religious and comercial activity. There are still enormous Roman pillers and columns standing from before Jesus' birth! As you can see, we were blown away to be amidst the oldest architecture in the world. After our tour we found a field of daisies in the middle of some palace ruins (yup, some old columns still standing too). We lay there, Jennifer made a daisy crown, and I did lots of journaling. Ahhh, life's tough.Our Rome hostel, on the other hand, was the dive of all dives. There was a constant sewage smell in the halls... luckily it didn't make it into the bedrooms! We were pretty much always grossed out by the bathrooms, but we didn't spend much time in the hostel anyways so it was OK!
Now we are in the little town of Siena, right in the heart of Tuscany. It is possibly the cutest town I have ever seen! There are lush gardens in a valley in the town in which all the locals grow there own vegetables. All the streets are winding and cobblestone, and pizzerias on every corner...YUM :) And yes, our hostel here meets all our standards of cleanliness, thank goodness!
I know this is a long entry...but once I start writing I can't stop ;)
Big hugs to all,
Gwendolen (and Jennifer)
Comments
can i come?
I'm kinda let down after the big games, Italy sounds so incredible i'm thinking of just letting everything slide and go somewhere....Ok maybe it's not a good idea, but your adventures sound nearly irresistable.
Re: can i come?
Hey Sarah,
You are more than welcome to come ANY TIME! I just have a feeling you might be very missed too... Thanks for your messages. I am missing the grand space that we are sooo blessed with in the North. Enjoy it!
Gwen