Rome

Rome was just incredible. There is so much to do and see in Rome, and so much history lies in this city. Our first day here we went down to the Colosseum. We had heard that there are some excellent tour guides outside which can show you around. We found one and it was definitely worth the price. We got to skip the lines, plus we heard the entire history of the Colosseum and learned a bunch of different things that you just wouldn't know if you toured it on your own. If you ever have the chance, I definitely recommend getting a tour guide. The Colosseum was amazing. To see a building that has been standing for this long, and to walk around inside where emperors and Roman Senators and gladiators once walked. Then we went up to Palatine Hill and saw the Roman Forum, different cathedrals and palaces and places like that. This whole area is just full of such rich history and it's beautiful. I loved walking through the ruins. I jumped up on an old pillar for a picture. I just loved walking through this area, simply incredible.

Our first day was just kinda spend seeing the major parts of Rome...Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Roman Forum, all the different arches and memorials, cathedrals, piazzas, and other big sights like that. We were supposed to have a walking tour of the city that night, but not enough people showed up so they couldn't do the tour. But we did get a great restaurant recommendation...great food!

Our second day in Rome was spent at the Vatican. We decided to follow this same company and do another guided tour. The Vatican Museum is just so huge that we wouldn't have seen it all or learned as much as we did. For example, there is this red marble which is known as the most expensive marble in the world. It's from Egypt, and 80% of it lies in Vatican City. We saw statues, paintings, courtyards, sarcophogi, and all kinds of famous works of art painted by the greats. Vatican City is it's own separate country, and it's pretty incredible with the collection of art they have. We went to the Sistine Chapel, which was probably my favorite part of the whole tour. To be standing beneath Michelangelo's work, to see the magnitude of it, the beauty of it, and just how incredible the whole project really is...it's just amazing. That room is huge, and to imagine the task before Michelangelo. You aren't supposed to take pictures in there, but I secretly snapped a few haha. I got caught once, but the guards don't really care, just as long as you don't use flash. Flash messes with the paint and over time it can become more distorted than normal, so that's what they really look out for. But the Sistine Chapel was probably my favorite. It's so famous and it really is beautiful, but you just can't fully appreciate it until you see it for yourself.

Rome was a beautiful city, simply incredible. I think I could have just walked around the city everyday for a week and been happy. But our third day in Rome we decided that we had seen all the major parts of the city that we wanted, so we jumped on a train out to this little town of Civitavecchia, on the Mediterranean coast. It was beautiful out there, and the weather was amazing. Then again, anything would be incredible when you're used to the clouds and rain of Glasgow haha. I loved being able to wear shorts again...something I'm afraid I won't be doing again until I get home. But Civitavecchia was very nice...just a nice relaxing day to the coast and walking around. It made me miss the beach a lot.

I think one thing about Italy that I love so much is that it reminds me of home in a lot of ways. The weather is about the same, and the countryside is pretty similar. We were walking around in Rome and we found this one street where we just had to stop and look up and down the street. Finally Keith broke the silence and said "Um, can you say downtown Greenville?" It was like our city planners came to this street in Rome and just copied it straight into downtown...it was kinda weird. But I just love this whole country...the people, the culture, the food, the history. It did remind me a lot of home, and it's just one of the most beautiful countries I've been to yet. Definitely my favorite stop on this trip. I'll miss Italy, and I hope I get to go back again one day. It is absolutely worth the trip.