Rome & Vatican

1st cruise stop - woohoo! We decided to book a tour to visit Rome and the Vatican. The ship docked at Civettechia which is approximately 1.5 hours from Rome. We spent the morning driving around Rome; the tour guide explained what we were looking at. Can't remember half of the information, there was just too much of it. We finally got off the bus at the Colosseum; we spent about half an hour walking around and taking pictures. Lots of people trying to sell you tourist crap (postcards, scarves, etc.). We got back on the bus and continued the tour around Rome. We stopped close to the Vatican for lunch; where we were served lots of wine, pasta, meat and potatoes...there was sooo much food. After lunch, back on the bus and stop at the Vatican. We walked through the Vatican museums which were really nice, took some video but not many pictures. We stopped in the Sistine Chapel which was as amazing as expected except for the hundreds of people in there and claustophobia setting in. After the Sistine Chapel we went into St. Peter's Basilica which is the largest church in the world and had many marks pointing to where other churches stopped in length. We saw where the pope's apartments were and the balcony where he does the easter sermon. The entire afternoon was spent in the Vatican, I had no idea it would be that big. After this it was back to the bus for the journey back to the ship in Civettechia. Great day, but could've definately spent more time in Rome.

Rome, Italy