Roma Around

This morning we took the bus from our hotel down to the Vatican... The plan was to go there first and then walk around the city, however, as we drove around the Vatican City walls we realized two things that would change our plans. One was the fact that the place was HUGE and we already had a late start...plus, the only thing longer than the city walls were the people lined up around the streets waiting in line to get in... Crazy! There must have been hundreds of people in line. There was also a light rain that probably explained why everyone wanted to get inside the museum and churches and out of the wet. So, with our open schedule we headed out to roam around the city and see what other sites we could take in and put the V-city on hold for now.

This turned out to be a good move and the city was beautifully wet and alive with activity. What a better way to see the city. I wish we could import the maps we got from the hotel of the City...It is almost like Disneyland with all of the spots to see and how surreal everything is here. Almost like a movie and so detailed in every architecture design that it just cannot be explained or captured in a picture. The streets feel so safe and friendly and we got our first taste of real Italian pizza! Sooo Goood!!!

On our first day out we really had little "plans" for seeing the sites besides switching out the V-City for the Colosseum but we quickly learned that the "sites" were all around us. A modern day city born out of thousand year old buildings, intricately detailed statues and landscapes that all create the biggest museum in the world. As the gents from London described it "brilliant!"


As we made our way across the city we got to play in the rain and mark some spots to re-visit later during our stay... The history behind all of the buildings was something that took me by surprise. Maybe it is our short span of history in California or even America compared to thousands of years and so much that happed around Rome to shape the world we live in today.

Thinking back I was struck by the little things... Millions and millions of little 4x4 inch black bricks that create the streets around the city, the detail in statues that are on every corner and the time that went into making all of them. London has tons of history also but it was not until today that we really felt like we were out of the country and seeing the past and the world through another cultures eyes. Now, we were on vacation.


We have too many pictures (believe me) but I posted a few over here. Tomorrow we are off to explore more of the city...