Day 9 - Rome, Italy

Rome... where to even start with Rome. An amazing city that everyone needs to visit at some point in life. From the beautiful churches and statues to the Pantheon to St Peter's Square and the Vatican. So much to see, so much ground to cover and so little time to appreciate it all in one day. It's almost laughable to say I only spent 1 day in Rome when you need a month to see everything!

We did see the highlights.. Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, St Peter's square and the Pantheon (so many other things, too, but too many to mention!). We were at first a little bummed about the fact that we were there on a Sunday and that visiting the Vatican was highly unlikely due to crowds. What we learned was that there is likely a method to the madness of cruise ships visiting Rome on Sunday - no weekday traffic. From what the tour guide said, the city is gridlock all day during the week and that a tour bus and tourists could not get anywhere in the city Monday-Friday. So even though we did not get to go in to the Vatican, we did get to visit the square. Maybe another trip will allow a closer look at the historic city within the city.

Rome like many other cities we visited has all of these historical buildings, ruins and sites right next to more modern buildings. One moment you could be walking by the Pantheon and the next moment you are walking past an apartment building. What a city.. definitely on the list of places to go back and visit for a much longer time.

View of St Peter's square

The Pantheon

The Colosseum - yet another amazing feat of architecture and human power. How something of this size and stature was built in the 1st century is difficult to comprehend. I personally choose not to think about the death that occurred in it but rather focus on the human aspect - what it meant to society as a gathering place and a symbol of the culture.