Rome, Italy Pictures

Rome was our next stop after Paris. We stayed at a great B&B in central Rome for five nights. We spent each day walking and sightseeing in the scorching heat. Rome is a city to be seen on foot and we were happy to have logged the miles. It was my first time in Rome and I had mixed views about some of the sites. Visiting the Roman Coliseum and Roman Forum were historic to say the least, but I was taken back by how much the sites had eroded. I don’t have any idea how one would preserve historic sites from the 9th century BC of course, but I couldn’t help but wish that there was more than just rubble remaining in certain areas.

Visiting the Vatican was one of my top sightseeing experiences. We first climbed the steps to the top of the dome of St Peter’s Basilica. We worked our way over to the Sistine Chapel and marveled at Michelangelo’s ceiling as it came to life. Wow! Pictures weren’t allowed inside the chapel but I would encourage anyone to read more about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel. I was in awe as we walked through the Vatican museum and then later through St Peter's Basilica. I was amazed by St Peter's Basilica and struggled to come to grips with the sheer beauty of this place. The Vatican is a truly special place.