Rome

Sorry it is taking me a bit of time to update my blog! There is always something going on or things to do. Here is the remainder of Italy:
        Mom and I woke up and walked to the Colosseum to meet our tour guide Stephania, to begin our all day tour of Rome. When we got there we were greeted by Stephania and found out that she thought it was just Mom getting the tour, and didn’t realize there were two of us. We had to go get another ticket for me, and then we began our tour of the Colosseum. We went inside and I was in awe, it was so amazing to see it all and realize that so long ago gladiators fought there and to imagine the thousands of people that packed the entire place, and the roar of the sound of the cheers that there must have been. I thought it was especially interesting that they had part of a wooden stage over the basement area, and then the rest of the ground exposed the basement. Because we had this view, it made it easier to imagine how it would have looked just seeing the wooden stage with the dirt on it (what the spectator would have seen) as well as where the Gladiators waited to fight and where the animals were kept. It is amazing that the Colosseum is still standing today after earthquakes and stone robbers.
        After the Colosseum, we walked through the ancient Roman ruins, and were told the history behind the pieces we saw, what we found the most interesting is that all of the architecture and sculptures were created before there were power tools, or tractors, or any type of machinery that we now depend on to create anything. After the Roman ruins, we went to the pantheon, where we saw more sculptures in a beautiful building with an oculus, which was a big hole, like a skylight in the roof, but it didn’t have any glass protecting it from the building, so there were drain in the building for when it rains! Next we were off to the Trevi fountain. It was a lot bigger than I expected and was very beautiful. Of course Mom and I had to throw a coin in. Turns out, one coin means you will return there, two means you will fall in love there, and three coins means you will get married there. Of course we each only threw one in after discovering this :) Then we went and had lunch at a little to go pizza place. Mom and I had the best pizza we had ever had! It was flatbread with thick bright red slices of tomato, mozzarella, and basil. After it was toasted they put olive oil on it...let me just say BUONISIMO! After our amazing lunch we went to the Vatican. Words can not even explain what a labyrinth of beauty and intricacy the pieces were that we saw inside. Beautiful statues made of various rock and bronze, tapestries that you could stare at for an hour and still not see all of the detail that went in to it (which were all done by hand!) paintings, and artifacts. But of course the most spectacular thing in the Vatican museums was the Sistine chapel. We both teared up at the marvel it was and the stories of Bible the paintings showed. We stared at the ceiling for over an hour and a half and know that there was still so much we hadn’t seen. If you have never been you absolutely must go and stand in awe of the magnificent ceiling and wall that was all painted by hand, by one man, who had to lie on his back to create it. When we left we went to St. Peters Basilica, which to me, was the most spectacular thing I had seen yet. This was largely in part to the time of day we went. We went when the sun was setting, so the light was trickling through the church windows and lighting up the place in a way that was so magical that I don’t know how anyone could see anything so moving and not believe in God and Heaven, I felt like I was able to experience a piece of it right then. There were beautiful sculptures that were over 15ft tall, they were so magnificent. After St. Peters Basilica our tour was over and we were so glad that we decided to have the private tour guide because we were able to have a personal relationship with her and ask her as many questions as we wanted, plus we were able to go at a pace we wanted.
Next we took a metro to the Spanish steps, walked up them, and people watched for a little bit. We left to go to our hotel to get ready for dinner but on our way we passed a restaurant with a display of home made pastas in front. We decided that was the place for us so we went in. The manager was standing at the front of the store and we listened to him singing Italian songs to intrigue people in. It was a very authentic Italian experience and we had a very good pasta dish with fresh tomatoes, home made pasta and olive oil. The power went off three times we were there which we thought was very entertaining.
Next we were off to find some gelato, our last one together :( Then we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. The next morning I woke up with Mom and had breakfast with her before she took a cab to the airport. I cried of course! We had such a wonderful time, thank you so much Mom for coming, Dad for letting her, and Uncle Bud for watching the kids :)
That day I took a metro back to the Spanish steps and walked up and down Via Condotti looking at all the shops there were. Then I wandered the streets some more and saw many more statues and churches on various streets before I went back to the hotel to get my things. When I got to the train station, there were two trains leaving for Civitavecchia. They were both leaving within 20 minutes of each other so I chose the later train which was 10 Euros less. I soon found our just why it was cheaper! There was no air conditioning and they oversold tickets so many people (including me) were standing. So there I was, packed in a train, with no air conditioning, with a 30 some pound backpack on in 90 so humid degree weather. After I got off I had to walk for 15 minutes to get to the shuttle for the ship. Needless to say, as soon as I got to the ship I took a shower and went to bed. Italy was so amazing, next stop Croatia (which I actually just left) so I will be reporting on that as soon as I can!
Love to all,
Lauren