Rome or Roma

All roads lead to Rome, well, train tracks for sure. We made our way to Rome via the fast train from Florence.  Although we are quite organized and planned as much as we could, we unfortunately didn’t do quite enough planning when it comes to tickets. So we find ourselves in a situation where we had to figure out where we were going to get our tickets for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museum. We managed to buy skip the line tickets for the Vatican for Friday morning which leaves us with only the arrival day in Rome to see the Colosseum. As soon as we checked into our hotel, we walked to the Colosseum and within minutes of arriving at the Colosseum ground we were approached by ticket sellers. We bought tickets which provided access to the arena floor but not the underground tour, this was as good as it was going to be.

Colosseum from the outside

Inside the Colosseum

The “underground” of the Colosseum

The Colosseum is a sight to behold. It was built by Vespasian and to mark the inauguration of the complex, games were held for 100 days and nights, during which 5000 animals were slaughtered. Another emperor (Trajan) topped this by holding a 117-day killing spree involving 9000 gladiators and 10,000 animals.
The tour was kind of “sketchy”. We had a totally different entrance and were not even given tickets. After the Colosseum tour we were passed on to another tour guide for the Palatino (Palatine Hill) and Roman Forum. Some of us from our original tour group joined people from other tour groups.

Palantino was supposedly where Rome was founded in 1753. Before we entered Palatino, the guide finally gave us ticket, but that was pointless as they were not accepted by the ticket scanner! No worries, he had back up tickets to let us through the turnstile.

Palatino

Ancient Rome. The Roman Forum

Roman Forum

The next morning we made our way by subway to a part of Rome that is just outside the Vatican City to meet the Vatican City tour guide. As we approached the city, we noticed a long line up waiting to get in. Sure glad we paid for “skip the line” access!

Vatican Museum

wow…

Work by Raphael (One of my favorite Renaissance painting.. learned it in Art history) Pretty cool to see before my very eyes…

Here’s Raphael looking at you

After walking through the different galleries, we finally made our way to the Sistine Chapel. There is absolutely no talking and picture taking in the Sistine Chapel but people kept yakking away and you hear the constant “sshhh” by the security guards. When the noise level got too loud, someone would say “Silencio” over the loudspeaker.. well, that lowered the noise level for like 5 seconds! The fresco in the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo – apparently he was not happy about doing the painting as he much preferred to sculpt..

Our next stop, St Peter’s Basilica. Photography allowed. Hmm, I wondered why. The paintings in the basilica are not paintings.. they are actually mosaic, painstakingly created by the artist. Wow.

No… not a painting

Close up of mosaic work – this is the section of the lady’s dress just above the candle

That’s a real body in there.. Pope Innocent XI, he died in 1591

The dome of St Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo was the architect

St Peter’s Basilica

And finally, St Peter’s Square.  We took a few pictures and made our way out of the Vatican City.

Panorama of St Peter’s Square… which is actually circular.

We then walked to the Pantheon, another famous landmark that was built by Hadrian in AD 125. It is the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built. The dome is open at the top and rain water enters but drains away quickly through 22 almost invisible holes in the sloping marble floor.

Pantheon

Sunlight streaming into the open dome of the Pantheon

Our stay in Rome is short. We’re off again tomorrow morning for a relaxing stay at the Amalfi Coast. I think I can finally put on my bikini and lay on the beach for a little while but I’m sure someone will be dragging me along for more walking and gelato eating..