We left Florence in the morning and headed for Rome. The weather was nice and sunny and the drive through Tuscany was so beautiful!
We stopped in a little "hill town" for lunch. Tuscany has hill towns all over the place. They are small, old, have their own histories, and pretty tourist-free. If we had more time I would have loved to explore more of these towns and stay overnight in several of them. The town we stopped in was called Lucignano and I would have loved to spend more time there! Lunch was delicious and perfectly Italian.
Then we drove straight to Rome. Rome is crazy. It's a very busy city. But we made it! We checked in to our Air B&B hotel and then headed for the Borghese Gallery. I had made a reservation for us months ago and I seriously can't believe we got there in time! (Especially in a city we know nothing about!) We rode the metro and then walked uphill for about 20 minutes and somehow found it!
The Borghese gallery was full of the most beautiful paintings and sculptures! My favorites were sculptures by Bernini... They're just unbelievable! Jaren really liked them too. We listened to the audio guide which was 90 minutes long and full of good information. I just loved this gallery, it's one of my favorites for sure. Baroque art at its best!
The gallery...
Bernini's sculptures...
David (in the action of slaying Goliath)...
Pluto (Hades) kidnapping Proserpine to the Underworld (a story from mythology)...
Apollo and Daphne (also a story from mythology). Daphne is turning into a tree... This one is my favorite...
After the gallery we ate dinner near our hotel and then topped it off with gelato! We are both SO tired from traveling. I think we'll sleep in tomorrow.
Day 2
We slept in this morning and then went to a bakery nearby for breakfast. I ate the MOST delicious pastry I have ever had!! I also had a Coca-Cola light.
Worthy of a photograph...
Then it was time to head to The Roman Forum and the Colosseum. The Roman Forum was SUPER cool! (Much cooler and way more interesting than Jaren and I thought it would be.) We loved exploring these ancient ruins. We also listened to Rick Steves audio guide and learned so much! Ancient Rome is so interesting... It rose for 500 years, peaked for 200 years, and then fell for 300 years (due to inflation, government corruption and many other reasons). Afterward, the "dark ages" in Europe began. It's amazing to learn about the lives of these ancient people.
The Colosseum lived up to its name- it was HUGE! The architecture is amazing, a lot like our stadiums today. It's just crazy to me, though, that Romans enjoyed watching people fight to the death for entertainment. (Must have been the lead pipes they drank out of.)
Afterward we took Rick Steves "Heart of Rome" walking tour and saw the Pantheon, another amazing ancient building!
The domed roof in the Pantheon...
Afterward we saw the famous Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps! The fountain was closed for restoration (I was SO bummed), but I still tossed a coin backwards over my shoulder to ensure a return to Rome (so the tradition goes).
Trevi Fountain...
In front of the (very crowded) Spanish Steps...
For dinner we ate American-style at McDonald's. Then we walked around the shops. Rome is so romantic at night!
We both really enjoyed our day!
Day 3
Today was busy, crazy, and hot! Definitely a tiring day full of site-seeing, but still very enjoyable. We went to Vatican City. (It's not a part of Italy or Rome, it's a country all by itself. The smallest in the world.) Our first stop was the Vatican Museum. I made us reservations ahead of time which made it much easier to get inside. There were SO MANY PEOPLE everywhere! Everything in Vatican City was CROWDED! After the museum we went inside the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo painted the ceiling. We weren't allowed to take photos inside but it really was amazing (especially the iconic God and Adam painting). Next we decided to climb the dome of St. Peter's Bascilica. This was my favorite part, because I love to view cities from high up! We climbed all the way to the top, and afterward came down to the roof and looked around as well. When we came back down we visited inside St Peter's Bascilica. (Where Peter is "supposedly" buried, but we believe in the LDS church that he has been resurrected.) St Peter's Bascilica is enormous and very elaborately decorated (Baroque style). We did audio tours of all 3 places (Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter's Bascilica) and learned so much. It was really interesting to see everything, but the crowds were crazy!
Vatican Museum...
Views from the roof and top of the dome...
St Peter's...
Vatican City...
After Vatican City we went to Palantine Hill. I'm not sure how we missed that yesterday as it's right by the Roman Forum, but we somehow did. I'm so glad we walked over Palentine Hill today. It's the ruins of where the emperor of Rome used to live. We get the word "palace" from Palentine Hill.
On Palentine Hill...
View of the Roman Forum from Palentine Hill...
Then we went back to our hotel to rest before going to dinner. We were hot, sticky, and tired. It was nice to rest for a little bit.
We went to dinner at a fun little restaurant. I got a pizza and it was so fresh and delicious, Jaren had lasagna which was also very tasty. Then we got gelato and walked around the colosseum. Like I've said before, I just love these cities at night! Rome is a chaotic city, but it definitely has its charms. Overall, we loved our visit here and learned so much! I also enjoyed the hot Summer weather and sunshine we had!
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