Our week in Italy - Rome Edition

See a theme here?? LOL

Italy.....Oh how I loved it! After our magnificent cruise we delayed our flights home for an extra week of adventuring around Italy.....We had another night in Venice before catching a first class train (80 Euro) to Rome.

Roma! What a city!! All my life I have wanted to ride a Moped around the streets of Rome and throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain (thanks Audrey Hepburn) Was BUSTING to get to the Trevi Fountain...in fact I was BUSTING to get anywhere.....We had another well picked internet hotel, threw down our gear and started, yet again, walking.

So into the crazy, hustling, bustling city of Rome we went....And let me tell you any crazy idea's I had of zooming around the streets of Rome on a moped were quickly lost....these guys are NUTS on the roads...there's no lines, no sense of road rules, parking diagonally, straight, double parked and not really a care in the world for pedestrians.....you would have to be suicidal or just born there to work it out...even if you find a little green man pedestrian crossing, doesn't guarantee any sort of safety at all LOL.  Sorry Audrey......cant mark that off the bucket list......madness....anyhoo...where did we go first?? Well straight to the Trevi Fountain of course!!

I can not describe how much I have wanted to see this fountain....it was everything I hoped it would be, and of course the three of us held hands and threw a coin in! The legend goes you throw a coin in and you will always return to Rome....I wished for a husband LOL......I being a realist like I am, I can indulge in silliness sometimes hahaha.....I soaked it all in and enjoyed every second there...Of course I had to go back and see it at night as well....

There is so much to see and do in Rome.....Its a magnificent city....Mind boggling to think these ENORMOUS buildings, monuments, statues etc were all made hundreds of years ago and are still standing as regally as they were when they were designed....its mind blowing.  In fact I have a bit of a theory on that....All these HUGE buildings and statues etc....and all the penis's on them ....tiny! Overcompensating do you think?? Bahahahahaha...little man disease was ripe in them days I reckon LOL. 

The next day we had a tour of the Vatican organised.  I wasnt sure if I was terribly interested in doing this tour, infact I told my cousin when we were organising tours at home before we left that I would go shopping whilst they did this tour....but I am so glad I did do it... And let me tell you...DO A TOUR!Ours was hectic to say the least at the beginning but you get to skip the humungous line and of course you get to see the Sistine Chapel! Michelangelo is one of my favorite sculptors and too see the Sistine Chapel's Last Judgement was incredible! Oh and they teach you so much on these tours that you wouldnt know without someone with the local knowledge and experience.  Did you know that Michelangelo never signed his paintings? He didnt see himself as a painter..he would have preferred to be known as a sculptor but when the Pope tells you he wants you to paint the Sistine Chapel...you paint the Sistine Chapel! So instead he would paint a self portrait in his paintings....You can see this evident in this pic of the Christian they scun .....he's the bloke with his skin in his hand...thats Michelangelos self portrait in the skin!

Crazy shit eh....It took Michelangelo a bit over four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512. He had never painted a Fresco before so got off to a slow start....It's about 40 meters (131 feet) long by 13 meters (43 feet) wide. These numbers are rounded off just a tad, but don't detract from the fact that Michelangelo painted well over 5000 sq feet of frescoes. On HIS BACK!  Can you imagine that!

The Vatican itself I was uneasy with....I cant help thinking all this richness and extravagance came at an incredible price for the poor people of the day....sufferance for religion has never been a highlight of history for me, but it is a fact and that's that.  I think if I was Catholic I would have understood the concept better but it was lost on me somewhat...And I NEVER KNEW, and everyone I have told this too since my return seems to know it, so I must be ignorant, that the church is actually a graveyard for all the dead Popes!! There's mummified popes, and entombed Popes and empty crypts for when the Popes aren't actually buried there but a crypt is still placed....kinda creepy them mummified Popes....I had no intention of taking a photo of them but heaps did....ewww.....anyway here are some Vatican pics for ya....

Now this pic is pretty cool...it looks like a plaster type thing huh...but it is actually a 3D painting on the roof of the Vatican! 16th Century 3D....pretty groovy!

The Pope Cemetery.....

Now just to put it in perspective of the SIZE of this Church in the Vatican...see the lettering FIDES top left hand side?  Each letter is 3.5 METRES LONG! It is incredible the size of this joint.....

The entrance to the Vatican

Now this pic is my favourite pic in the Vatican....its not actually a picture.....its a whole bloody wall!  This was painted by Raphael....now remembering that Raphael, Michelangelo and Da Vinci were all students together, they were friends and often imitated each others ideas....Well Raphael did with Michelangelo's paintings anyways.....anyhoo....this painting is of the "Arts" department of the day and Raphael has painted himself....in a white robe with flowing reddish hair, next to him is Michelangelo (yellow top blue cape) and sitting centre with his head resting on his fist is Da Vinci! How cool is that!! Loved it!

 These are the Official Vatican Guards....still wearing the same uniforms that Michelangelo designed in the 16th Century....the poor bugger on the left has to stay completely still for 2 hr shifts!

Off back to the Hotel we went for an incredible meal!  I LURVE prawns (scampi) and couldn't believe the size of these little suckers!! And my oh my were they good!!!

Nom Nom Nom.....Also here is a pic of the only "Italian Orgasm" I managed to get LOL

Next day we went wandering again and ended up at the Colosseum....OH EM GEE!! This blew my mind...images of lions and Spartacus are embedded in your thoughts....the place has a vibe!  Its bigger than I could have ever imagined and I still cant get my mind around how smart they were and ingenious with their rope pulley systems to let people/animals out onto that arena...wow!!

Holy Schmoley! I loved it so much....definitely a favourite spot in Rome! Soak up that history baby!! I was in History Heaven! 

 The Spanish Steps

Rome is a hustling, bustling, historically famous and amazing place and I would definitely like to go back there one day. 

Ahhh Roma......We loved you

Next up....Florence, Pisa and Pompeii!

Til next time bloggers :)

Oh and also.....I have been nominated for some sort of bloggers award thingy!! Thank you too Black Cats and Buttons for the nomination..this is the best I can do with the linky thing BUT I am still a newbie bloody blogger and have no idea what Im doing LOL...But very much appreciated!!
I think I am now supposed to do this to 5 other bloggers so will do my best LOL

So here's what I have to do:


1 – Thank your Liebster Blog award presenter on your blog
2 -  Link back to the blogger who presented you the award
3 -  Copy and paste the award on your blog
4 -  Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers
5 – Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog

I will give it a crack!!

The people I have nominated are:

Cardinal Cyn

Diary Of A Hobart Burlesque Performer
Crumby Creations
Scarlett's Letters
Something about Kellie

Cheers!