Rome, Italy

there were no plans to stop in Rome when originally deciding upon where to go when travelling through Europe. our stint in the countryside, also unmeditated prior to actually being overseas, put us only about an hour or two away from the city. out of the neccesity to not regret it later and the compulsion to visit such a grandiose hub of architecture and history, we spent two very busy days in the urban bustle that is Italy's capital city.






one of the really brilliant aspects of exploring this city is how one can just seem to run into some of the most stunning, sought-after sights in the world while simply walking down the street. ancient ruins, epic churches, and huge government buildings are intermingled in the fast paced heart of Rome with shopping districts and resturants. the streets are filled with buses, cars, fleets of businessmen and women on scotters, and the seemingly constant whine of ambulances and police cars. it's a very modern city with a lot of old history, mostly all crammed together so that most major sight-seeing spots are nearly around the corner from one another.

S. Maria Basilica




Coliseum


Vittoriano E Piazza Veneiza



Castel Sant'Angelo



The Pantheon





The Trevi Fountain


this was one the hardest places to find, the fountain being tucked into an intersection of small, windy streets. really beatiful, though. this is the place in Rome to visit to throw your coins.



St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City


Vaitcan City is it's own soverign city-state within Rome. it even has it's own postal service.

the most impressive, quintesentially awe-inspiring Roman attraction was our visit to the Vatican museum, a huge collection built up by the church for hundreds of years. really, really amazing and exspansive, a testement to the power and wealth of the church.

pope-mobile












to be more specific, what was really amazing about the Vatican was the oppurtunity to visit the Sistine Chapel, Michelangos masterpiece. the walk towards the chapel is amazing in itself.



and the chapel itself packs a big pay-off. really hard to capture why this place is so incredible. it doesn't come close in size to many of the mega-churches throughout Europe, but it's probabally one of the most famous and, in my opionion, the most captivating. pictures weren't allowed but i managed to take a few while the security was busy "shush"ing all the people inside, trying to maintain a practically impossible silence amongst the crowd.




a pretty damn remarkable place, i'm glad to have visited Rome.