I may have been a bit negative in my first Italy story. Sorry about that. I'm usually such a sunny-side-up kind of person. So I want to tell you why you SHOULD go to Rome, despite the things that are a nuisance...such as traffic...and large crowds...and other such annoyances.
1. The Pantheon
We found the Pantheon by accident on our very first night in Rome. We enjoyed a nice dinner on a street corner and then decided to walk down a cute street and BAM! We found ourselves staring at the beautiful Pantheon! The sun was almost finished setting, which made the place look sooo romantic. We really enjoyed it. Here are some pictures of the inside:
Did you know people are straight up buried inside every church in Rome? Raphael, the amazing Renaissance artist, is buried in the Pantheon.
Aaaaannd the outside is mighty fine as well...
Journaling + red wine + Pantheon = BLISS!!!!
2. The Colosseum
The Colosseum was our favorite part of the trip. Our tour guide, Valentina, was wonderful. She is actually an archaeologist so she was very knowledgeable. These pictures don't even do this place any justice. I'm honestly ashamed to show them to you, because you truly have to experience this place in person. You have to hear about the history of it too, because I will mess that up as well.
Meeting up with our tour group.
Drew at the Arch of Constantine (Constantine was Rome's first Christian Emperor...in case you didn't know).
See this line? Yeah, don't be like them! Book your walking tour through Viator.com and not only will you skip the line, but you will have the best tour guides EVER!
Inside the Colosseum: You can see where the "stage" used to be, where they have rebuilt part of it. All of those tunnels and rooms underneath were where the gladiators and animals were kept. And if you look at the left side of the picture, you can see a large Iron cross. That's where the emperor would sit. Best seats in the house!
3. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill was nice. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think its the place where old legends say Rome was originally founded, thousands of years ago. Cool, huh?
See those trees? Those are Umbrella Pine Trees, the tree that produces pine nuts. You know how pine nuts are so expensive? Well, in Rome, you can just walk around and pick them up off the ground. I love these trees. They are gorgeous!
Meet our fabulous tour guide, Valentina. We absolutely heart her!
My feet on the Via Sacra, the 2000 year old road that used to be the main road in Rome. Emperors walked this road. Julius Caesar walked this road. As a matter of fact, his tomb is at the end of this road, and people still pay their respects every day. Amazing.
Inside the Roman Forum, you are actually a few meters below the level of the modern city. They had to dig all of this up! And Valentina told us that only 35% of Rome's ruins are uncovered....the rest is just waiting to be found.
4. The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica
First of all, let me just point out how incredibly HUGE the Vatican is. Did you know that if you spent one minute on every piece of art in the Vatican, you would be there for 12 years? 12 YEARS!!! That's insane! And remember how I said every church in Rome has people buried in it? Well, guess who's buried in St. Peter's Basilica??? Welllllll, ONLY Jesus' buddy Peter and a few Popes. No biggie! So basically I was walking on their heads. And that seems very wrong. I'm glad I didn't know it at the time.
So since the Vatican is so massive and there is so much art in there, you can pretty much bet that we took a few hundred pictures. But I'm only putting 6 pictures on here. Think of it as a teaser, but its really just an attempt at keeping this post from becoming a novel. Enjoy!
Background: St. Peter's Basilica
We were actually in Leonardo DiVinci's private rooms! Well, they aren't private anymore, of course...but we stood where he stood...where he was inspired. Amazing.
Apollo
Drew's feet on the 2000+ year old marble tile floor in the Vatican, which 30,000 people walk on every day. The Romans certainly built things to last.
La Pieta
So go. Go to Rome. I promise all of these sights are completely, 100% worth everything that goes along with the city.
With love, Ev
P.S. Next time: Florence.