A Roman Holiday

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In the famous movie Audrey Hepburn rides her scooter around and has a great time doing so, this being our second visit to Rome and still scooterless we had to settle for walking and catching the train.
Last time we came to Rome we didn't get the chance to have a good look around the Vatican city, which is also the worlds smallest country so we headed straight there. The first thing that strikes you is the sheer size. St Peter's square at the front is a huge space and the basillica behind is equally impressive. We went straight in and had a good look around the basilica and were impressed to say the least. After this we went to the Vatican mueseums to have a look at some famous chapel or something. We wandered through the Vatican museums which lead to this chapel or something, these were quite impressive. One section had maps of Italy painted on the walls that dated back to the 1600's, which makes Australia look like a very young country. We walked through the museums and came to the entrance to the chapel.

Before I explain what was in the famous chapel I will regail you with a story.

Whilst working in the UK we worked with many different people, one day we were discussing the city of Rome with one of our co-workers. She didn't think to much of the place and said. "The sistene chapel is not that good.... Its just a room."

As you may have worked out by now the famous chapel was infact the Sistene chapel painted by our good friend Michelangelo (not the turtle). The chapel is the most amazing thing either of us have ever seen, the artwork that covers the walls is simply staggering in its beauty. The artworks that cover the walls are impossible to describe but they are in a word - perfect!!!! The chapel is also phenomenal when you consider that Michelangelo painted not only the walls but also the entire ceiling and did so 500 years ago.

After spending much time trying to complete the impossible task of actually taking in the sistine chapel and trying to comprehend it. We left the chapel and headed out through the remainder of the museums, in a word they were crap. The Vatican isn't being fair to itself allowing anyone to see anything after allowing them into the Sistene chapel they really should kick you out onto the street as after experiencing the chapel it is pretty hard to be impressed by anything else.

Next stop in our Roman holiday was the Colleseum, this was built so that they could film the movie gladiator and they liked it so much they left it there. This may not be 100% correct but the colleseum was equally as impressive the second time we saw it. The sheer size considering when it was built is amazing. We also headed to the Trevi fountain. Last time we were in Rome we visited the fountain and took some nice photos and headed off. The fountain is a very small area on the back of a building and this time when we arrived the area had been invaded by people. The difference between the amout of people that were there in the two visits was staggering.

We continued our site seeing around Rome and it is a city that we both really love as around every corner is another building that is 200 years old and you simply stand there amazed by what you see over and over and over again.

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Photos

The Colleseum
Still just as impressive the second time around.

The trevi fountain
The fountain is still as beautiful as we remembered

The hordes at the Trevi fountain
The crowds at the fountain, when we visited we could sit down and enjoy the view. No chance this time.

St Peter Basillica
The main chuch of the vatican.

The square infront of the Vatican
The huge square infront of St Peters basillica and the vatican