Our second city on our trip was Rome. It was very noticeable compared to Paris that the city is much slower paced. In Paris, it's "go, go go!" In Rome, it's "I'll get there, when I get there." On our first day, we walked around, saw a few sites and made sure to eat some pizza. Italian food is soooo much better there. It's just something about those ingredients that taste different. Or maybe it's something in the water?? I'm not completely sure, but it just tasted so yummy!

Colosseum

On Day 2 we went to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum. You could easily spend an entire day here. We booked a half day tour which covered main points. An added plus was that we got to skip the line! Although winter is low season, there was still a line to enter. We were also lucky because once our tour was over, it rained cats and dogs! We headed indoors for awhile to let the storm pass then went out in search of food. 

Vatican City

Day 3 was reserved for the Vatican. We also did a half day guided tour. There was a long line of people standing in the rain the day we went.  I'm glad we bought tours for these places. It was definitely worth it to pass those lines!

Here's a representation of what a statue would look like painted. The organic composition of the paint wouldn't have lasted all these years, which is why we see all white statues today.

A shot of the ornate ceiling in the Galleria Delle Carte Geografiche (left) and St. Peter's Baldacchino (right and below).

Pieta by Michaelangelo

View of St. Peter's Square

If you're ever at the Vatican, make sure to make the climb to the top! It's sooooo worth it to pay 7 euros to take the elevator part way up and walk the remainder 320 steps. Otherwise, it's 5 euros to walk 551 steps. The 320 steps was tiring, but there's no way around it. You have to walk this part. I can only imagine how hot it would be trek up all those stairs on a summer day. Sweaty sweaty sweaty!

The Papal Swiss Guard

Quick fact: You need to be at least 5ft 8.5in to qualify. 

Here we are at the Vatican post office. We sent off some postcards to friends and family back home. My post card took about 7 days to reach its destination in the States. Did you know that the Pope's face is on the Euro coins? I was able to receive a 50 cent coin, like the one below, as change from my postcard purchase at the post office. You can buy them, however, at an inflated price. I think the 50 cent coin will run you three Euros! I made sure to stash that one away as a souvenir!

Pantheon

This place has an oculus inside of the dome which serves as the main source of light. It rained a little that day, so the center area was cordoned off to prevent anyone from slipping. I still managed to get a shot of the coffered ceiling!

Piazza del Popolo

The sun shined bright on our last day. So much so, that we could take off our jackets and feel the warmth of the sun on our skin. It was cold everyday of our trip so far. The warmth was welcomed with wide (bare) arms! Since it was our last day there, we did as the Romans do and walked along the streets, did some shopping, and ate some delicious food.

Here's Stacey posing with King Tut.

Of course there's a video with some action of our time in Rome! Ciao!