When in Rome

Time flies!  It's been one month (- 1 day) since I left for Prague.  That feels so long ago.  Though I've had more than one instance of homesickness ("K.T. go home..."), I've been enjoying exploring Europe.

In fact, time has gone by so quickly that I haven't had time to write about my most recent ravels in Italy.  That's right, Tuscany was not the end of the Italian Experience. Dad and I headed further south to a hotter, more humid, and even busier (if busier than Venice and Florence is even possible) Roma.  One woman at the train station told us to be prepared to be exhausted, and she couldn't have been more correct.  That said, we saw some pretty cool things!

I asked Dad what he would like to visit first, and without hesitation, "The Colosseum!!"  Of course, blood and gore.  One thing about the Colosseum is that it's huge.  Massive.  It's impressive how people, AD 72, were capable of building such an amphitheater.  We learned on a tour inside that not only were gladiator fights performed here, but also animal fights and some water-related events.  Capacity of the Colosseum: 70,000!!

On our third day, we visited the Vatican City.  Technically, it is within the city of Rome, but given its size and the amount of time needed to get through the entire vicinity, we considered this almost like a day trip and did, indeed, spend the day there.

Luckily we booked a tour, which allowed us to bypass the 2-hour wait (standing in a loooong line, no shade) to get into the Vatican Museums. Our tour guide had a major in art history and philosophy, so we learned a lot!  Highlights included the Raphael Loggia (artwork done by Raphael), ceilings paintings that look 3-D (picture above) and the Sistine Chapel.  Michaelangelo was a very important contributor to the artwork in the chapel, notably, the ceiling, which we were not allowed to photograph.  The ceiling artwork contains a lot of hidden symbolism, and political and personal messages from Michaelangelo.  Did you know that he lived to 87 years and was homosexual?

St. Peter's Basilica was also spectacular.  Even for me, the one who often sees churches as looking the same, appreciated the artwork in this church.

Other things that we saw were the Pantheon, the best-preserved structure in the city, and an important site in Angels and Demons (so of course we had to go!), the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and countless piazzas.

In terms of food, a lot of gelato, pasta carbonara, and Roma pizza.  Yum  yum.  But let me tell you something, the best pizza I had was somewhere else, and this is the place I'll talk about in my next posting. Hint: Angela :)