MORE ROME!!!
today was dedicated to scooters, vatican city, the pantheon and the hospital (i'll get to it).
the day before, we had inquired about the awesomeness that is know as scooter rental. though a little nervous, we picked them up in the morning and zoomed our way through rome - like typical italians! they were super speedy little things if you wanted them to be. we got lost A LOT on them but it was better than getting lost walking around (been there, done that! hahaha).
today was dedicated to scooters, vatican city, the pantheon and the hospital (i'll get to it).
the day before, we had inquired about the awesomeness that is know as scooter rental. though a little nervous, we picked them up in the morning and zoomed our way through rome - like typical italians! they were super speedy little things if you wanted them to be. we got lost A LOT on them but it was better than getting lost walking around (been there, done that! hahaha).
our first zooming adventure led us to vatican city! it was high on our list of things to do and we couldn't wait to get there. what a place! everything was epic! nothing was low key or simple, it was all extravagant and over the top. beautiful statues on TOP of the buildings, st peter's square is massive...you even have to go through metal detectors to get into the basilica. it was all so grande! and i'm glad we had read our trusty lonely planet the night before or we would have surely been turned away for our exposed shoulders. though a long sleeved shirt in the 35 degree weather was not fun, it was well worth it once we got into st. peter's basilica and later the sistine chapel. the basilica was the most beautiful thing we'd seen in all of italy so far. the detail and magnificence of each and every inch of that place is more amazing than you can imagine (and my pictures can't do it justice, for sure). we must have taken a hundred pictures in there because everywhere you turned, it was stunning. it was quite the experience!
we had a bit of a breather (and some time to reflect on the beauty we just saw) when we sent some post cards from the smallest country in the world.
then, off to the vatican museums. this is like no other museum we'd ever seen. as you can probably tell, i'm a bit obsessed with the ceilings/roofs of all these places. why? because they are so intense! the domes seem to all have areas where the natural light can come in and it shines everything up perfectly. and the museum ceilings! well! just wait till you see the photos...they are COVERED completely with paintings. chris was like "what did they do? say, "here's a white wall, go!". haaha. just imagine the hard work and dedication this all took. it's all so amazing. i'll say it again, it's like nothing you see back home in north america...well, it's like nothing WE'VE seen anyway. we spent quite a bit of time in the museum. there's so much to see and take in. i bet you could spend days there and not even get halfway through. i bet you could spend days in the sistine chapel alone. they herd you through the entire museum (we felt like cows!) to get to the sistine chapel and once you get there - WHAM! nothing else can compare to the paintings on these walls. you see images you've only ever heard about and seen in reproductions. you try to take it all in but it's so difficult because everything around you is a masterpiece by the world's most famous artists. the colours, the details, the shapes and the flow of it all. you try to get a grasp of what it all means and you can't - it's just too epic. man, it was incredible!
p.s. you're not allowed to take photos inside the sistine chapel (it's a holy place and all) but chris was sneaky. it was just too amazing not to have something to remember it by.
p.s. you're not allowed to take photos inside the sistine chapel (it's a holy place and all) but chris was sneaky. it was just too amazing not to have something to remember it by.
trying to find the pantheon was a bit of a challenge. all the one way and pedestrian streets were giving us the run around, but we finally made it and it was pretty cool! this is also where raphael's tomb is. while we were sitting in the piazza after looking around, having some yummy (and huge!!) sandwiches, we sat beside a school group. it was neat because each kid had to prepare a presentation on a monument/sight they were visiting while here and get up infront of everyone to teach the group about it. we were lucky to be there for the pantheon presentation...smart kid!
now comes the disastrous portion of the day. we were LITERALLY 2 mins from the rental place, just past the last turn of the day, josh and christine's scooter bailed. awful awful awful sound, hearing the scooter hit the ground (and turning around to see them crashing about). when i got to them (we were ahead of them by a little bit), they were shocked and scared - and REALLY banged up (lots of road burn on their right sides), but they were OK! THANKFULLY! josh has no idea what happened to make the scooter off balance but we're just happy everyone was ok. it could've been so much worse. chris got the scooters back to the rental place while i cleaned christine up, then waited with them for chris to get the car. then we headed over to the hospital to get all checked out. all was well, inside and out, and we headed back home to arezzo. it was an eventful end to the day but all was well in the end. scratches and bruises, but everyone was safe.
overall though, a great trip to rome (up until the last 5 mins). we were very thankful everything turned out alright and we got to see some of the most amazing things of our lives.
overall though, a great trip to rome (up until the last 5 mins). we were very thankful everything turned out alright and we got to see some of the most amazing things of our lives.