Rome

|Friday, October 12|

We arrived by train to our final European holiday destination, Rome. We had a panoramic tour around the city of Rome with a guide, taking in sights such as the Forum and Circus Maximus.  While dates like 300 BC were being thrown around,  my brain struggled to comprehend that kind of history.  Our tour continued to the Colosseum, where we heard stories of Gladiators and stared in wonder at the history in front of us.









After checking into the hotel, we made our way out to do some exploring of our own.

And explore we did... we walked all over Rome.








We made a stop at the Spanish steps and were inspired by all the people casually seated on the stairs.  Let's play a game... a bit of Where's Waldo?, if you will.
Where's Matt?

Now, where's Sarah?

{that one was hard, wasn't it?}






Then the rain started, so we had to take cover.

Then we made our way to the Vatican City.










After taking in the beauty of the smallest independent state in the world, we made our way to dinner.





|Saturday, October 13|

Our last morning began early, with tours scheduled throughout the day.
We began at the Catacombs. A catacomb is an ancient, underground burial place.
I have a phobia of hearses. Which crosses over into almost anything that is death related. Not a fan.
Also, not a fan of small places. When walls begin to close in on me, my anxiety rises and I feel like I can't breathe. The same things happens if my hands get pinned and I can't move them. My husband can affirm all the above.

Neither of us was exactly sure how I would far in an underground tunnel where people were buried and some still may be... not all of the tombs were open. I made it. It was interesting. I crossed it off my list and at the end, I was glad it was over.  I took a big breath of fresh air when we made it outside.

Our tour continued to the Vatican City, starting off in the Vatican Museum.



This ceiling, in the Gallery of Tapestries, is painted to look three-dimensional, but is in fact, flat.




Then we made our way to the Sistine Chapel.  No pictures are allowed. As a rule follower, I was disappointed in the amount of people who choose to completely disregard this rule.  However, there is a diagram showing Michealangelo's fabulous ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

Next stop, St. Peter's Basilica.

I expected a big beautiful basilica, but I was not prepared for the sheer enormity.















































After our tour of The Vatican finished up we made our way to a restaurant for lunch. We ate a delicious  lunch accompanied by a litre of wine.
This is my before and after.

I dominated that spaghetti
and now I need a new oxford shirt.
After lunch we set out on a walking tour through Rome.
We stopped at the Trevi Fountain, where we tossed in our coins to ensure a return trip.


Our tour included The Pantheon and Piazza Navona.








Our evening ended with a Farewell Dinner at the Marriott {which immediately made me wonder why we weren't just staying at the Marriott... I like me some Marriott.}  We had a lovely dinner, sharing stories of the past two weeks while dining on bruschetta, penne pasta, veal, and limoncello with dessert.
Here is the group we spent two weeks traveling with.


We had an amazing trip and enjoyed all the culture, exploration, and adventure we shared together.
We were sad it was over, but for the first time, we were ready to return home...to Cartagena.
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