After seeing some of the amazing sites in Italy, we made it a point to head out at night to see all of the sites illuminated at nighttime.  It was nice to spend some time visiting the tourist spots without so many tourists!

Tossing a coin into the Trevi fountain to ensure my return to Roma!

The guys at the Trevi

Part of the Roman Forum

The Colosseum lit up at night

Goofing around at the Colosseum

Seeing the architecture lit up at night was an awesome experience, and we had fun exploring Roma at night!

Laura

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The two weeks in Rome flew by, and I'm behind on all of my posts!  (Our internet connection in Rome was very unreliable and I was getting frustrated trying to re-load pictures a bunch of times!)  With Rome being the longest stretch of our journey, we were able to see a lot and enjoy all that Rome has to offer.  It is such a fascinating city - and I don't think I'll ever get sick of Italian food!

During a few days of our time in Rome, we were able to visit the Vatican and some of the buildings inside.  Vatican City the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world (by both area and population).  After dodging the onslaught of people trying to sell tour tickets, street vendors, and the masses of people headed in, we made it inside the brick walls that border the state.  Once inside, we were able to walk around Piazza San Pietro and see the Basilica di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Basilica).  The Piazza is the large circular area outside the basilica where crowds gather to see the Pope speak.  The basilica's dome is instantly recognizable, and we were able to see it in the skyline throughout our time in Rome.

Piazza San Pietro

One of the guards

Basilica di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Basilica)

We were able to explore the area a few times, then dedicated an entire day to the Vatican Museums, and seeing the Sistine Chapel.  After waiting in a long line in the rain, we finally made it inside the entrance, where we were in for quite a day.  We were herded through the building after building, slowly pushing our way through the thousands of people visiting. 

The walls and ceilings were covered with paintings and tapestries throughout all of the buildings.

The Belvedere Torso sculpture

Even the floors were highly detailed with intricate mosaics

Although the buildings were intricately detailed, and very interesting to see, the struggle through the visit was only made worth it when we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel.  Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted 12,000 square feet of the chapel ceiling while lying on his back on scaffolding.  No photos are allowed inside the Sistine Chapel, but I was able to find plenty online to share!

Inside the Sistine Chapel... One of the most iconic images from the ceiling: this depicts the creation of Adam.

 The ceiling was absolutely incredible, but being herded through a warm building, shuffling and squeezing past thousands of people certainly made for a long day.  We were grateful to have gotten the opportunity to see such extraordinary artwork, but I can't say I would like to go back anytime soon!

Laura

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Although there is a lot to see in Rome, and the food is amazing, I think the thing that has stood out the most to me about this city is it's history.  Rome's history spans more than two and a half thousand years, since its founding in 753 BC. (It's official founding date is April 21, 753 BC, so we were here to celebrate Rome's 2,766th birthday!)  It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization.

Everything I see here makes me want to learn more.  After visiting the city's biggest attractions, I've been heading back to the hotel to research and find out about how it got there.  I have yet to find one place here that doesn't intrigue me. 

Although the metro here has been the busiest we've come across yet (sardines come to mind), we have been able to catch the metro into town and walk most of the city.  One of the coolest things about taking the metro was exiting the metro on the first day - getting off at the 'Colosseo' stop, we were immediately greeted with a stunning view of the Colosseum coming up the steps from the metro.

We've also been able to check out some of the other big attractions of the city.  The pictures I took of the Trevi Fountain do not do it justice.  The sparkling blue water and the amazingly detailed fountain are incredible.  The fountain was packed with people, all throwing coins into the fountain to ensure their return to Rome.  Each day, about 3,000 Euro is collected from the fountain! 


The oldest building we've visited is the Pantheon.  It was rebuilt in 126 AD, and has the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world.



Walking around Rome, it's amazing to see all of the old mixed in with the new.  It truly is an incredible site.  We still have over a week left, so there's a lot more to see!

Laura

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***Since this blog was created, it has been written by "Laura and Bryan"... anybody that knows the both of us knows that just stands for "written by Laura, read by Bryan a week later".  I have decided that it will be easier for me to just write this as myself.  That being said (now that I am no longer speaking for both of us...) - I have decided I am moving to Italy.

After catching a late flight from the (very confusing and warm) Orly airport in Paris, we landed in Florence (or, in Italy, Firenze) and took a taxi to our hotel.  The hotel was not exactly a luxury resort, with a metal screen filling in holes in the roof (we had the pleasure of listening to every floor above us flush their toilet at all hours of the night).  Still, with a bed, a shower, and a free breakfast, our needs were met and we settled in.  Even in the crappy hotel, it took me less than 24 hours to fall in love with Italy. 

Our first day in Florence, we ventured out to find some lunch and check out the hills we could see outside of our hotel window.  Just down the street, we found a little restaurant called 'Pizza Man', and walked in to grab a bite to eat.  Although the staff didn't speak a word of English (despite the English name of the restaurant), we managed to point and use hand gestures well enough to get our order across - two personal-size ham pizzas and two waters.  A few minutes later, we had pizzas the size of a large pizza in the US, and two glass bottles of mineral water (they are really big on their glass-bottled water here).  Amazed at the amount of food in front of us, we dug into the pizzas and had our first taste of Italy.  Instead of the greasy, cheese-smothered pizzas we were used to (which I still think are delicious), we had oven-roasted tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella and basil on fresh-baked dough straight out of their brick oven.  It was delicious, and served well as our dinner that night too!  (Since we had so much left over!)

On Tuesday, we woke up early to hop on a bus that took us to a few places around Tuscany.  We started in Siena, where we got to walk the streets, and see the square where they hold the Palio horse races.  These horse races are an important tradition in Siena, and happen twice a year (every July 2 and August 16). 

Siena is divided into seventeen contradas - and each resident is born into a contrada that they cannot change.  The contrada that you are born in is so important in their culture that women giving birth at hospitals outside of their contrada will bring soil from their home to place under the hospital bed so their child can be born on their contrada's soil.  Before the race, jockeys are selected from outside of Siena, in attempts to keep them from being biased.  However, it has long been known that these jockeys will accept bribes, and have instead inherited the name "assassins".  Race day starts with a special mass, trial runs by the jockeys, and blessing of the horses. In the afternoon starting around 3pm there's a procession through the historic center of Siena with costumed participants from each contrada and performances by flag throwers. The historic parade ends at Piazza del Campo.

Before the race the starting line-up is decided by lottery and horses are lined up behind a rope, the traditional starting gate. The race is about 1000 meters total, with horses circling the track three times, taking less than two minutes. The contrada of the winning horse is awarded the palio, or victory flag. Winning the palio is a huge honor and the race is highly competitive.  I've grabbed some photos from the internet that show the race; although that many people packed into a small space with such emotion sounds crazy, I think it would be amazing to witness.

Thousands upon thousands pack the square to witness the 3-lap race.

Horses race around the square 3 times, and jockeys ride bare back dressed in costumes representing their contrada.

The track has sharp turns and can often result in jockeys being thrown from the horse, and even horses tumbling into the crowds.

Piazza del Campo... without the thousands of people.

The Duomo

Just checking out some of Michelangelo's work in the church...

Another shot of the historic square.

After spending time in Siena, we visited an organic farm in the Tuscan countryside. They served us organic pasta and food for lunch (all from right there on the farm... they grow their own grain for the pasta, olives for the olive oil, grapes for the wine, vegetables for the salad, raise cows for their beef... everything!)  We got to try four different kinds of wine, and enjoyed a view of the Tuscan countryside while enjoying the best meal I have ever eaten in my life (hands down!). 

I could eat this every day of my life and be happy...

Maybe this picture best explains one of the reasons I want to live here.

After lunch, we headed to San Gimignano, one of Tuscany's best-preserved medieval towns, and enjoyed some cool architecture and gelato! 

mmm... gelato!

San Gimignano is known as the "Manhattan of Medieval Times", because it had so many "skyscrapers".

Lastly, we stopped at the field of miracles in Pisa, to see the leaning tower and other monuments in the area. 

The classic tourist pose at the Leaning Tower.

Trying to get a shot of all of the people trying to get the "classic tourist shot" in Pisa!

Our day trip through Tuscany was one of the best days I've ever enjoyed on this planet.  I am already planning a return trip!

Our next stop is Rome, so I'll be posting again soon!

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After a 3 mile hike to the Louvre on Wednesday only to discover that it had been closed due to a staff boycott due to pickpockets, (read: Louvre closes due to staff boycott over pickpockets) we went back today to spend the day wandering the vast museum.  When we first got to the museum, we were quickly reminded of what a popular place it is: an average of 30,000 visit the museum every day.  (That's like fitting a decent-sized city in the museum!)  The outside of the Louvre is gorgeous, and the glass pyramids in the middle of the square have become an icon of the museum.

After wandering around some of the exhibits, we made sure to locate one of the most famous paintings in the world: the Mona Lisa.   We spotted it's location quickly by finding the painting with a large crowd around it.  After patiently waiting, and slowly wiggling our way to the front, we were able to admire the extraordinary painting, and get a quick picture!

The crowd gathered around the famous painting, now protected by bullet-proof glass.

After seeing the Mona Lisa, we spent some time exploring other areas of the museum.  Here are a few more pictures from our trip to the Louvre:

Crowds wander the Louvre.

Bryan admiring one of the many large paintings.

A view out the window.

The famous Venus de Milo statue discovered in 1820.

Laura in the Greek and Roman Exhibit.

Getting clever with some of the sculptures.

Walking through some of the walls of the original Chateau du Louvre.

The Grand Sphinx de Tanis.

Although we covered a lot, it would take days to see everything the museum has to showcase. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time on this trip, but that just means we will have to come back!

Laura and Bryan

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