Italy

When we first arrived in Rome two things became unmistakably clear, first, I do not speak any Italian, and getting around Italy without being able to communicate was going to be an interesting experience. I was actually quite ashamed of myself, here I was in a country that does not speak English, and I couldn't speak their language and was expecting they could speak mine (here I go, being a typical annoying American) and second, pay phones in Italy were extremely confusing, and many Euro coins were expended in vain attempts to phone a friend in Rome.

After a few unsuccessful attempts to use the phones and find transport into Rome, including a group of cabbies trying to trick us into taking a taxi all the way into the city (crazy expensive), Nicole and I were able to find and get the last two seats on the bus into the city center. Once inside Rome another thing became clear, Italian drivers are crazy! Lanes at intersections are completely arbitrary and if you feel like the person in front of you is going to slow, you simply pull up to the side of them, creating your own lane and wiz by them at frighteningly fast speeds when the lights turn green.

Even with the alarming driving procedures, Rome is a fabulous city with many things to see.
Our first morning Nicole and I headed out to explore Vatican City and in particular, St Peter's Basilica. A huge church, the basilica covers almost 6 acres, and is considered to be the burial site of Saint Peter (particularly, tradition holds that Peter's tomb is below the baldachin and altar).

Along with housing the apparent remains of the apostle Peter, the basilica also holds the tombs of many Popes and other prominent Catholic figures, including the most recent Pope, Pope John Paul II. In the main hall of the basilica there are many statues and monuments to various Popes and other important Catholic figures.

In the middle of the basilica, is the statue of St. Peter Enthroned. It is Catholic tradition to visit the basilica and kiss\touch the right foot of the statue, and because of this the foot is almost completely eroded away. In fact, the left foot is now beginning to be worn down as well due to so many people visiting the basilica each day.

Near this statue and directly beneath the main dome of the basilica, is a huge monument, covering the supposed grave\remains of Peter. The monument is huge (30 m tall) and is covered with bronze, supposedly taken from the Panthenon.

After we explored the interior of the basilica, we, keeping with the pay to climb tradition of Europe, opted to climb the dome, or cupola 120 m (394 ft) to the top. We, being adventurous, and more importantly cheap, opted for the without lift option and trudged to the top.

The view from the top was fabulous, as you could see much of Rome and all of Vatican City.

After decending the stairs, we met up with Brooke and her mother and headed to see the Roman Colosseum. This was really fabulous, and included my favorite subway stop in Rome, because when you came up from the subway, the Colosseum was huge and the first thing you saw.

The Colosseum was created between 70 and 80 AD and was the host for gladiator fights and other public events. To me, it was phenomenal that a building of this size and architectural complexity was created so long ago, and for the most part is still well intact today, nearly 200 years later. Even more impressive was the amount of thought and planning that went into this ampetheatre.

The Colosseum had a seating capacity of 50,000 but due to the effectiveness of the planning, all spectators could be evacuated from one of the 80 doors within a manner of minutes. Seating worked by rank, with the most important people (Kings, Popes, senators etc) sitting in the first level all the way to commoners, slaves and women sitting in the highest level. Originally, the seats were covered\created with marble and went nearly to the top (with the top level being standing room only) but the marble was all stripped by the Pope when St Peter's Basilica was created.

Yes, I was calling Jack Bauer, the Colosseum was under attack by crazies!

Another interesting thing about the Colosseum was the intense underground labyrinth that housed the animals and gladiators. Traditionally, the gladiators were Roman prisoners and if they won their battles they would be granted their freedom, that is if they could survive.

Apparently we didn't make it out...

After the Colosseum, we went on to explore the Roman Forum. This was the center of old Rome, and is still in large part well preserved.

The Roman Forum was fabulous, lots of old ruins from when Rome was first inhabited, Brenda and Nicole paid for a walking tour, Brooke and I however, decided to just wander about.

My favorite spot was the Palantine hill. It was so beautiful.

Taking a breather in the Museum on Palantine hill.

I cannot even express how much I wanted to be the head and hands behind this statue. My efforts were thwarted however by a crazy guard who was giving me the evil eye.

After the Forum, Nicole and I were so exhausted that not even our insatiable hunger could steer us from going to bed.