Italy – Rome 2 | Personal

This post is the second half of our time in Rome.  I loved Rome!!  It is a gritty, big city with so much going on.  It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.  Everywhere we turned there was something crazy old and cool to see.   It was amazing to us the history and to see things dating back to years B.C.   I understand now why people say it takes a lifetime to see Rome – there is so much there and so much to explore.

On our third day in Rome we went to The Vatican.  It was very impressive.  I recommend doing it as a tour to skip the ridiculous line and it was also so great to have someone explain the significance of things to us.  We hired Roberta from Rome Tours with Kids and she was fabulous and didn’t mind me sneaking away to get the staircase shot below.

We were there at 9:00am and no one was on the staircase yet – I was so happy!

Roberta toured us through many halls on our way to the Sistine Chapel.  This hall of maps was my favorite.  The ceiling was unbelievable!

I think my butt was getting wet or something in this picture.

We went through the Raphael rooms which were fantastic!

This is Raphael’s famous painting of the philosophers with Aristotle & Plato in the middle.  He put himself in on the right corner with the black beret.  He also put Michelangelo in the painting right in the front in the purple robe.

Crazy awesome ceilings.

A beautiful corridor as we left the Sistine Chapel.

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

Absolutely huge.

This building is nicknamed The Typewriter.   It is a war monument to Italy’s first king.

Beautiful sculptures on the building.

We took the elevator up the side of the Typewriter for some wonderful views of the city.

The Pantheon.

Inside the Pantheon with it’s great dome.

I took this shot very quickly as we were walking by this couple.  I just love how he’s looking at her and the whole scene.

Street painter with spray paint and fire in the Piazza Navona.

Beautiful Piazza Navona.

I loved the cobblestone streets of Rome.

We spent the afternoon going through some of the churches near the Pantheon.  The cool thing about the churches is the amazing art inside that you can see for free.  The statue above on the left is by Michelangelo.