Más Roma

Part II.

(My brother informed me I should be using ROMAN 

numerals for this blog title- why didn't I think of that?!) 

    Oh so much yet to tell you about Rome! It really was a fantastic trip- I'm having such a hard time picking my "favorite" pictures to share, there's so many! Let's see, where did I leave off last time...

     Ah yes, I had just "survived" (and enjoyed!)  my adventure getting to Rome, now to tell you about my day exploring the Vatican.  A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. We knew it would be an interesting weekend in Rome with the Pope's retirement. We had been hearing mixed messages about whether or not the cardinals would hold the conclave in the Sistine Chapel to vote for the Pope on Friday. As awesome as it would have been to be in the Vatican when the cardinals had their conclave and watch the for the "smoke" from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in St. Peter's Square, I personally wasn't disappointed to hear that they will be holding the conclave in mid-March. Meaning, I got to tour the Sistine Chapel. Yes! 

   We spent basically the whole morning and afternoon touring the Vatican museums. There is SO much to see, and I just loved every moment of the day! What are we going to do with that Michelangelo?! Seriously though, my eyes just FEASTED on all of the beautifully ancient artwork in the Vatican. Beautiful! My pictures don't even come close to doing justice, but I hope you can get a taste of the beauty captured in the Vatican. 

     We began the morning by touring rooms upon rooms of sculptured marble statues made by Michelangelo and various other super famous artists. It was a cool display, but  by the end of the exhibit I definitely had my fill of naked statues. Awkward!  I guess I'm still not mature enough to fully "appreciate" Michelangelo's artwork... You can thank me for only showing the clothed statues! ;) 

Each room was just breathtaking!

I was just completely WOWed by all of the detail in every room. 

And then I'd walk into another room and find even more! 

Beautiful, eh?

One of the rooms had tons of maps of Italy- pretty awesome! 

Perfect time to snatch a quick picture of the whole gang. :)

The next few rooms had every wall and ceiling COVERED in paintings. 

I loved looking at all of the Biblical scenes- there was so much detail!

I pretty much just walked into each room with my mouth hanging wide open! 

So incredibly amazing! 

       It was a special opportunity to share (and translate) to my friend Minako all the Bible stories depicted on the walls as she had never heard many of the stories. Wish I could show you a picture of the Sistine Chapel, because it really is a wonder. But taking pictures in the Chapel is STRICTLY forbidden! And believe me, I was't about to argue with a Roman security guard, have you HEARD what they did to the gladiators?! So while I don't have any pictures of the Sistine Chapel,  believe me that it really is amazing! I really enjoyed telling Minako all the Biblical accounts that covered the walls and ceilings of that awesome  room! And hopefully someday she'll come to know the power found in those precious stories. 

Peeking out the window that over looks St. Peter's Square. 

Didn't get to see the Pope, but that's ok! ;) 

When in Rome... eat pizza! 

Yum!

    After getting our fill of the Vatican museums we headed to St. Peter's Square, where we luckily only had to wait a few minutes before touring the one and only St. Peter's Basilica. I went absolutely NUTs taking pictures inside, but here's a few of my favorites! 

St. Peter's Square!

The view of the entire Basilica from the entrance. 

How many rotundas does it need?! Those Romans...

;D

Ornate doesn't even BEGIN to describe this place!

By far my favorite picture. So many "layers" to this beautiful building!

Here's the supposed burial altar of  St. Peter's bones.

My tour guide mentioned that this is and I quote "definitely maybe"

 where St. Peter's bones are buried.

Hmmmmmm...

Pretty cool place to hang out! ;)

Heading back to our hostels via metro to rest up before doing some more sightseeing. 

We'll never fit in with the locals... Oh well! 

Later that evening we wandered around until we found the Spanish Steps. 

Great panoramic view of Rome!

There they are, Escaleras Españoles. :)

Off to Spagna Plaza- look more ancient Roman statues!! 

I'm in LOVE with Rome!

And of course, the Pantheon otra vez.

 This place is MAGICAL at night!

Can't see Trevi Fountain too many times. ;)

It was really fun to see so many of the Roman monuments at night.

Here we are tossing our pennies into the fountain. :) 

Hopefully our dreams will come true!