Off to Rome we go

Rome was fantastic! We arrived to the bustle of a big city and wheeled our suitcases to the next apartment which would be our home for the next 3 days and nights. After we had been duly spoiled with our Venice apartment we were a little let down with our Rome accommodation but in the end it worked out just fine. Nothing wrong with having some lovely olives and wine off the end of Lily's bed after all.
We got to the Colloseum early and jumped into a tour which turned out to be a great idea. It was just awe inspiring to walk the ground that had been walked by the great emporers and gladiators. You could really get a sense of what it would have been like to be there in the stands watching a gruesome duel. After the Colloseum we headed to another tour of the Forum led by a chap from Birmingham England who spoke just like Robin Leach. This tour was also a must because we would have missed out on so much information about the importance of Palantine Hill and the Forum.
After lunch my mom headed back to the apartment for some rest and we went out to do a little shopping. That evening we headed to the banks of the Tiber River and had dinner. The next day we decided to visit the Pantheon which was a Pagan temple prior to becoming a church. Of course it would have been destroyed if it hadn't been turned into a church. The dome and oculus were the inspiration for the Basilica in Venice and St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
After a quick walk around Novona Piazza we went for a gelato and ended up running into another family from Santa Cruz.
It was then time to head to the Vatican. We decided again to participate in a tour so we could avoid the lines and have someone help us maneuver through this city. Our guide was incrediably knowledgeable and she seemed to know everything about the Vatican. After 3 hours I felt like I was in the information overload stage and we all staggered out of there ready to sit down to a glass of wine. I am still not sure what to make of the Vatican. Every single inch of the Vatican is magnificent. Every tapestry, painting, sculpture, mosaic and map is pure work of art. It was hard to wrap your head around the fact that everything here belonged to the Vatican. It was so opulent and lavish and it felt strange to have so much wealth and opulance in a place that was suppose to be a place of worship. I am still not sure how to verbalize the feelings I am left with. That evening we went out for some wonderful carbonara and after dinner walked around enjoying Rome's magnificence one last evening.

Rome, Italy