The Washington Post: Last bits of Rome...

The next day we headed out to explore a little more of Rome before our tour of the Vatican. Of course you can't start any day without a good breakfast : ) The hotel had an amazing spread of food! After we ate we headed toward the Colosseum.

We stopped along the way to check out the ruins and incredible architecture that IS Rome. One of our tour guides told us it always takes the Romans forever to build something new because as soon as they start digging they unearth more ancient history. The city has basically been built on top of itself. The ancients ruins/buildings are just part of the background.

Next to the Colosseum is the Arch of Titus. The Arch was built in 82 A.D. to commemorate the life of Titus shortly after his death. It also happened to the be model or inspiration for the Arc de Triomphe we recently saw in Paris.

Next stop, the Colosseum. It immediately made me think of the movie Gladiator and Russel Crowe, haha. But truly, that's what this huge amphitheater was there for. It was able to seat 50,000 in its day for gladiator competitions, animal hunts and other spectacles for people to watch. Basically it was the first major football stadium.

We walked the perimeter but didn't have time to go inside since we were on our way to the Vatican for our tour.

I loved seeing all the markets and veggie stands in the piazzas. This guy below had gorgeous pumpkins and gourds! Made me want to go back to STL and decorate my front porch with hay, pumpkins and mums : ( Oh well, next year right?

We knew we were getting close to the Vatican when we started passing all the guys in black with white collars and the occasional nun. It was like being the "old person" on a college campus.

Priests and nun...Vatican in the background.

For those of you who didn't know, Vatican City is a state in and of itself and separate from Rome. It also happens to be the smallest independent state in the world by both space and population.

St. Peter's Basilica

The inside of the Vatican is mostly one bug museum. It is filled with thousands of statues, paintings, sculptures and other works of art. You could really spend 2 or 3 days wandering the halls and still not really see everything.

Busts

Of course, one of the most famous parts of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. It is the official residence of the Pope and the Papal conclave (where the new Pope gets selected). But of course it is most famous for it's ceiling painted by Michelangelo. Now we were told not to take pictures inside....but everyone else was doing it! Including my mom. So I didn't feel bad : ) In person it's honestly not the most amazing painted ceiling. However, it's the Sistine Chapel!

After we left the chapel we walked right past the door that led to the Pope's apartment. You could look through the key hole and see his guards. How terrible would it be to have so many tourists walking around just outside your house?

We took a long corridor that the led us into St. Peter's Basilica. It is supposedly built over Peter's burial site and named for him. This is where the Pope's mass is held and also happens to house a bunch of the dead/mummified Pope's of the past.

The altar at the front of the Basilica

Not sure which Pope this was!

Outside we got a better look at the Pope's Swiss guard. Wouldn't you love to wear a cute costume like that to work? You wouldn't have to get anything new for Halloween : )

Another view outside the Vatican

The next day we had one more place to check out in Rome. Chad had heard there was a monastery in Rome that was decorated with skeletons. Well he was right. The church is called Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins and housed an order of Capuchin monks (not Capuchin monkeys). In 1631, Cardinal Antonio Barberini ordered the remains of thousands of Capuchin friars exhumed and transferred to the crypt below the church. The bones were arranged along the walls, and the friars began to bury their own dead there. The crypt then became a place where the Capuchins would go to pray each evening. There are multiple different rooms all with intricate designs on each wall....all made from bones.