http://youtu.be/WnGWCF-x5aM
The Basics:
We used City Wonders for our Colosseum tour and What a Life for our Vatican tour. Both are highly recommended. We stayed in a nice apartment for two people and will be happy to give you info on it!
Rome has been one of my top two destinations that I wanted to see for as long as I remember, it's always between Rome and Machu Picchu for number one. Now imagine my excitement when we decided to make my birthday weekend a long one and celebrate it in this wonderful destination! Needless to say, we did a lot of indulging over the weekend.
We rented another apartment and its location was fantastic. It was literally one block away from the Colosseum. I loved just taking a step out and being able to go there anytime of the day that I wanted really easily.
Our first full day we had to wake up nice and early. I had booked a tour with City Wonders and the tour started at 8:30am. The tour was of the Colosseum underground and 3rd tier. You can only get into those two sections with a tour guide so your group is the only group there and you're not surrounded by people.
A good note for people: go to the Colosseum early, whether you book a tour or not. The place was completely dead that early in the morning, we were really surprised. Our tour guide was an architect so she really knew her stuff and gave us so much information! I think Rome is somewhere you need tours. I mean, these sites are over 2000 years old which is insane and there's no way you can truly appreciate them if you don't have some background information.
The first part of the tour brought us to the stage level. We were able to stand on the re-created stage of the Colosseum. It was a beautiful view all around us and there was barely anybody else around. You could just imagine the place being full (somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 people) and the things that happened on the floor.
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| walking through |
Next, we headed even deeper into the Colosseum, into the underground section. This was where they kept the animals and people in the shows or fights. They actually had an elevator system to get stuff and people onto the stage. There is records of forests being put on stage for shows by this system. The underground was cool because you really got to see the inner workings on the Colosseum. There was even an underground river that they used, like for when the water was needed in the maritime battles.
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| yes, that is straight across. lots of engineering! |
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| those are slices of the original floor |
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| underground river |
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| original stairs |
We headed up to the third tier next and that afforded some wonderful views. The high tiers were where women were sat. We learned that there used to be a awning that went over the Colosseum. It was attached to wooden poles and went through the holes that are at the top. When it was sunny, guys rolled them out like ship sails. And the guys who did this were sailors! That's something I had no idea about.
After spending time up on the top, we headed back down. We headed out of the Coloseum and onto the next part of our tour!
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| The white line of rocks shows where the Colosseum used to come out to! |
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| Ancient Road |
A cool feature was Julius Cesar's tomb! Or rather, what's left of it. It used to be a huge tomb but now is some small ruins.
Another cool place in the Forum was Casa delle Vestali (House of the Vestal Virgins). These priestess were chosen from families when they were between the ages of 6 and 10. They had to serve for 30 years. These priestesses had to be virgins for the full 30 years or else they were killed. But the trick was that nobody wanted to kill one of these women so they'd throw them in a room with bread and water and leave them until they starved to death. Or she'd be buried alive. That sounds worse than somebody just chopping! Oh and their job was to tend to the Sacred Flame and it could never go out.
It sounds pretty terrible but there were some perks. Their fathers weren't in control of them so they had independence unlike normal women in their time. They also got the best seats in the Coloseum, had their own dorms and had people to cook for them. So at least there's that..
Another story I loved was how they unearthed this temple below. It was originally a temple for the old religion. When they unearthed it, I don't remember when this happened but the people fell in love with the columns. Those columns are original and are absolutely beautiful. So they tried to take the columns to use them elsewhere but cracked them! Therefore, instead they decided to make the temple into a church..all because they loved those columns.
Next we saw the Arch of Titus. It was built in AD 81 to celebrate Vespasian and Titus' victories against Jerusalem. There are a bunch of Archs in Rome. They are all along this same road/route that rulers would once they return from their victories. The arches were built after every victory so that Romans could understand what happened. They put the story of the victories in artwork all over the arches since Romans were illiterate.
After the tour, we headed back toward the Colosseum for more pictures (since I'm obsessed) and check out the Arch of Constantine. This arch was another one of those victory arches built. It was built to celebrate Constantine's victory over the paegen emperor, Maxentius. Constantine was the leader who legalized Christianity in Rome. This is also the reason why the arch still stands. The popes in later years, took down many of these arches but left this one because of what it represented.
Our tour was a good 3.5 hours long so we headed back to the apartment afterwards to relax a little bit. After some napping, we headed back out to the city. First we stopped at the Victor Emmanuel Monument. It holds the tomb of the unknown soldier. It is a fantastic piece of art.
We headed for the Pantheon next. the Pantheon still holds the word's largest reinforced concrete dome and this thing was built two thousand years ago! Unbelievable! It is one of the best preserved ancient Roman buildings and has been in continuous use throughout its lifetime. And it holds some impressive people's tombs like the artist Raphael. That is just amazing.
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| on our way |
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| the people are tiny! |
The Piazza Navona was our next destination. It has some beautiful statues and fountains. It also has some great gelato!
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| I want to eat Hazelnut gelato forever |
Later that night, we went to the Colosseum to get some night photos. It is just unreal at night.
And then we went to bed early since our tour the next day started at 7:30am! Our next day's tour was of The Vatican! Neither of us are religious but I respect the current Pope and the changes he seems to be making. Also, I love the history of the Vatican. It's such a small place to hold so much power in the world. They're controlled a lot of the world and influenced many people and have also had their fair share of scandal.
Our tour was so stupid early because we started our tour before the general public was allowed inside. We did this so we could see the Sistine Chapel before the massive crowds and it was so worth it. It was mesmerizing just walking to the Sistine Chapel. The ceilings left us in awe, they were breath taking.
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| mmmm. no crowds! |
A really cool room was the Gallery f Maps. It has painted maps from the 16th century that show all of italy. They are extremely detailed and thought out. They are even usable today.
Stepping into the Sistine Chapel was an unforgettable experience. You can't talk or take pictures inside unfortunately but it really is something you just need to experience. Michaelangelo was unreal in his artwork. He painted columns and coves into the ceiling that looked completely 3D. There was no way to tell that the paintings were actually 2D, just unbelievable. I mean, even the walls blew my mind. They were painted curtains that I actually had to walk right up to so that I could tell if they were real or not, which they weren't! I cannot imagine the skill that it takes to paint this amazing room.
Fun fact: Michelangelo got this job because Raphael and another artist of the day recommended him to the Pope. Raphael and Michelangelo were rivals so Raphael was hoping him to fail. But later on, when Raphael went in with the Pope to view the room, he was in awe. He was completely amazed.
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| of course, not my photo but see the amazing skills and 3D effect?! |
And now we will go over some notable artwork! Below is the statue of Apollo.
And this statue below is considered to show one of the best faces of emotion sculpted ever. Michelangelo loved this statue. It is ancient Greek and was found during his time. In fact, the statue's right arm was missing so Michelangelo sculpted a new one. He used what he knew of Greek sculpture and human anatomy to create the arm how he thinks it would have been. And later, in more modern times when we found the arm, Michelangelo's take on it was about perfect. His arm was taken off and the original has been attached.
The statue below is an original ancient Greek. It carries an inscription saying that it was hit by lightening. Today, experts believe that the statue was hit by lightening and unhurt so it was buried into the ground to protect it forever. It's a good thing they did this because of the condition it's in now.
We went to the Raphael Rooms next. His artwork was beyond amazing too.
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| painted by Raphael's pupil |
Still in the Raphael Rooms, there's a really great painting. He has painted many famous people into it including Michelangelo. Remember how they were big rivals? Raphael was so amazed by the Sistine Chapel that he painted Michelangelo in respect.
The next few rooms belonged to the Borgia Pope. That family was famous for its scandals, murders and other interesting things that happened in his reign. In fact, the next pope refused to stay in these rooms and created new ones.
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| original ceiling |
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| Pope John Paul II's tomb |
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| those letters are each two meters tall! |
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| only the Pope can walk here |
Below is the outside of the door that is very powerful for Catholics. It is only opened once every 25 years and whoever walks through it is absolved of their sins. The other side is cement and the Pope has to chip through the cement to get to the doors.
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| cement door |
Below is the statue of St.Peter. If you rub his right foot, it is supposed to give you good luck. Of course, we did this!
We next headed outside the Basilica and up to the top of the Dome. I couldn't wait to see these views that are so famous. The stairs were something else! It was like a funhouse with how tilted they are. It was worth it.
All too soon, we headed back down and headed into the main plaza.
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| The Swiss Guard (Pope's body guards, basically) |
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| St. Peter's |
There are so many amazing things in Rome to see. Seeing something 2000 years old is pretty normal here which is just unreal. We both absolutely loved this city (Lee wants to live in the Colosseum..) and want to go back to see more one day! But I am thankful for the time we had and am so glad did tours. We got so much more from the tours than just seeing some old buildings. We both loved that part so I guess we will be taking more in the future! To be somewhere you've dreamed of going for forever is an unforgettable experience and I got to experience it with my husband who makes everything more fun.
Some things we heard before going:
1. Lots of pickpocketters
-we had no problems but we are very vigilant. It didn't seem any more different than going to London
2. It's diry
-Comeon people. It's a big city! It's got some grime but it's got old grime which is so much cooler.
Again, we say go and enjoy! Learn for yourself how the city is! We loved it and can't wait to return to see things that were under renovation like the Trevi Fountain!
