Italy Day 14

Today was our first real day of sight-seeing. We started with the biggies. First, the Colosseum. Wow! It is so weird to see a building that has been around for thousands of years. There were descriptions of the activities that took place here. It was pretty much the storyline from Gladiator.




How could we resist taking pictures with these Roman soldiers? No talk of payment was made before the pictures. The old guy wanted 10 Euro ($15) for one minute of their time. He became angry when Skyler told him no way. We gave them 5 Euro.






The Colosseum, Pallentine Hill, and the Forum are all in the same area. We visited Pallentine Hill next and saw an emperor's personal racing arena. Last was the Forum. It was fun to imagine people just hanging out there two thousand years ago.






Next we headed over to Vatican City. Did you know that Vatican City is its own country? I didn't. First we visited St. Peter's Square (Sight #2 on our self-guided Angels and Demons tour--AIR). It was bigger than I thought it would be.




The Swiss guard were visible everywhere. I wonder if they feel silly wearing those outfits or if they just don't care.


We went inside St. Peter's Basilica. I've heard people say that churches were built to make people feel small and insignificant. Well, this seems like the case here. The church was huge! On this trip, I discovered that one of my favorite artists is Bernini. He has sculptures and displays in many churches. I like him because his sculptures look different, many of them use the sunlight (natural and as part of the sculpture). Bernini designed this altar in St. Peter's.


This is the Altar of St. Michael the Archangel. Skyler liked using the sunlight from the ceiling to frame me in pictures.


I refilled my water bottle at the Vatican. I think it is holy water (j/k), but it tastes just the same as normal water!

We also visited Santa Maria della Vittoria (Sight #3 on our Angels and Demons tour--FIRE).

Its claim to fame is Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Theresa." Again, notice Bernini's use of the sunbeams.

Next was Santa Maria del Popolo (Sight #1 on our Angels and Demons tour--EARTH). It was closed when we were in the area so we didn't get to go inside.


Last sight for the day: Castel Sant'Angelo (Sight #5 on the Angels and Demons tour). This is the place that the Popes would use as refuge. It is seen as the last remaining church of the Illuminati. There is a corrider called Passetto di Borgo which leads to the Vatican.