Rome, where do I start. My expectations for this city were like that of our visits to Paris and London. Mistake. We started the trip weeks in advance, making reservations online to the Vatican Museum and the Borghese Gallery (above). Our reservations for the latter were several hours after our flight landed, giving us plenty of time (so I thought) to check into the hotel and mosey on over for a relaxing evening of art appreciation. However, we were NOT prepared to wait 45 minutes for our luggage at the airport (was everyone on break?), or for the train ride into the city that ran MUCH longer then indicated on the schedule, or for the metro stop that dropped us off in the MIDDLE OF NO WHERE with NO signs directing us to the gallery. We basically ran to the gallery and just barely made our reservations before they were given away to someone else. (Mind you, the gallery was booked for a week). Welcome to Rome! 
The next morning we headed over to see the Colosseum! It really was amazing to see what Roman engineering was capable of, especially at such an early point in history. Built in 80 AD, the Colosseum had 80 ground floor entrances, could hold 50,000 eagar spectors, and be evacuated in 15 min. The hallways to and from the stadium seats were called by the Latin word vomitorium. This is were we get the word vomit, since the people could expell themselves so quickly from these halls and out of the stadium. There's a visual image for you. I could think of worse words, but I digress. 
The "backstage" to the Colosseum was acutally under the arena floor (above) and consisted of a series of passages, rooms, and elevators. Animals would be hoisted up through one of the 80 trapdoors in the arena floor, often behind a blind, to surprise the figting gladiator. Despite common beliefs, it is unlikely that Christians were killed here, thankfully. 
The Roman Forum, now mostly just piles of ruins, was once ancient Rome's main square. There were temples, arches, and a meeting place for the senate. Julius Caesar was cremated here with fresh flowers marking the site. The vestal virgins, priestesses who tended to the flame in the Temple of Vesta (considered Rome's most holy place), also lived here during their 30 year term. If a priestesses were to break her 30 year vow of celibacy, she would be buried alive, which turned out to be the case more times than not. 
Next we climed up to Palantine Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum. This is where the emperors built their palaces. Palantine is actually where we get the word palace. From here we could see the Colosseum in the background. 
We could also see the dome of St. Peter's Basillica from Palantine Hill with the Tiber river in between. No other building in Rome is allowed to exceed the height of St. Peter's 328 ft dome. We would be checking that out the next day. 
Walking from Palantine Hill to the Pantheon, we passed by the Victor Emmanual Monument, dedicated the Italy's first king. Archaeologists are finding that the monument was built on some more ancient Roman ruins. Construction of a new metro line, intended to pass by the monument, has been constantly interrupted due to newly discovered artifacts. 
The Pantheon, a church built in second century AD, is the only ancient building in Rome that has been used continuously since its construction. Mass for Ascension Thursday was about to be held there just as we were leaving. The church's only means of light comes from a hole in the top of a perfectly constructed 142 ft tall dome. When the sun is shining, this oculus creates an a pillar of light from ceiling to floor. And when it rains, holes and slants in the floor drain the water out. 
Thursday ended up being the only day we had without rain. We took full advantage of the weather and decided to stay out later and do a night walk. It was still early, so we meandered past the Castel Sant'Angelo. It was used as a tomb, castle, prison, refuge for a pope or two, and a museum, basically in that order. 
Once it began to get dark, we headed out for our walk to see some sights after the sun went down. This column in Piazza Colonna was particularity interstesting. The reliefs on the column depict the victories of Marcus Aurelius over the barbarians. 
Our night walk took us past the Spanish Steps. I'm not exactly sure what's up with the Spanish Steps, except that some famous writers or poets or someone used to live in the area...not exactly sure. This photo was taken a few days after our walk, in the rain, without people climbing everywhere.
Here is the Trevi Fountain, which is a zoo by the way, day or night. And no, we didn't throw a penny in. All water in Rome's fountains come from aqueducts so the pressure in the fountain is determined by the pressure in the aqueducts. Just another marvel of Roman engineering coupled with baroque style art.
The next day, we hit up the Vatican Museum. We have been spoiled in our visits to such museums like the British Museum and the Louvre, where they give you a map including key pieces to see. Unfortunately, as with the Borghese Gallery, we had no such guidance in the Vatican Museum. Luckily we had our guidebook with a map including brief descriptions of important things to see. We ended with the Sistine Chapel where Max and I tried to find a spot out of the way to listen to our podcast explaining the panels on the ceiling and large mural on the wall. However, it was hard to feel completely inspired while we were constantly being bumped and shoved by pushy tousits and loud tour guides. Every two minutes the guards would yell "NO PHOTOS" and "NO TALKING". The experience left me feeling less than love for my fellow man. 
From the Sistine Chapel, we took the short cut over to St. Peter's Basillica. The sheer size of this place is hard to comprehend. The dome (above) was designed by Michelangelo, and inspired by the dome of the Pantheon. Below the dome is a seven story bronze canopy by the artist Bernini. Under the canopy is the main altar and below the alter is the site of Saint Peter's tomb. Throughout the church are all the words Jesus said to Peter in the Bible, written in 7 ft tall letters. The entire experence was humbling. 
It rained all day Saturday, our last day there. After having seen almost all we had wanted to, we decided to use the other free admission left on our Roma Pass to get out of the rain and see the National Museum of Rome. The museum turned out to be great! It houses an amazing collection of ancient Roman art (including such mosacis as pictured above). The Roman Forum helped me to imagine the architecture of ancient Roman buildings while the National Museum of Rome helped me to picture how the buildings and homes would have been decorated on the inside.
Here is Max navigating us to the restaurant we ate at Saturday night. We ended up eating many of our meals in the Pantheon neighborhood. It is a very charming neighborhood with lots of great restaurants at great values. The only problem was that it wasn't excactly the easiest to get to. That didn't really stop us though. 
And this was just breakfast (above) which was less than 5 euros for the both of us, together! Why don't the French stuff their croissants with cream or chocolate? The meals we had in Rome were some of the best I've had in Europe. If you know were to go, the food can be amazing. We tried all sorts of pastas, sampled some wine and desserts, had our fill of gelati (almost) and discovered limoncello (an Italian liqueur). Rome turned me on to food like London turned me on to history, and was probably the most enjoyable part of the trip. 
