Rome-Day 2- Part 2

We had fun visiting the Colosseum, attempting to run up and down the entry stairway, only to slip on the stone marble. And when I say run, our tour guide told us to.

After snapping a few more photos in and around the Colosseum area and pondering why the following person, if he was to impersonate a Gladiator, was on a cell phone,



we walked along the original Roman road outside the Colosseum that Julius Caesar himself walked on. It is amazing to walk on the same road as Julius Caesar. Quick little fact about Julius Caesar: All his sisters' names were Julia.



This road lead straight through the Roman Forum, which isn't much in terms of aesthetic beauty as it is in ruins now, but the Forum was the central meeting place of the city. In the Forum stood the most important public buildings and was considered to be the center of the entire Roman Empire.



After walking through the ruins of the Roman Forum, we made our way to the smallest country in the world: The Vatican. Now the Vatican is a landlocked sovereign city-state within Rome with a population just over 800 people. The Vatican is also home to two things: The Catholic Pope and the Sistine Chapel.

For being so tiny, it does take a while to get through the Vatican, winding through narrow hallways and crowds of people trying to push their way through to the Sistine Chapel. Also, it was hot. Not as hot as Houston for a summer day, but still enough to make the air thick and sticky. There was not much AC action going on and the only air ventilation came from tiny fans placed far and few between. But hey, we're in Rome! As long as you stay hydrated, you can beat the heat.

At least to those from the HOLA group, we believe the most important thing we saw at the Vatican was the Sistine Chapel, which is located in Apostolic Palace and modeled after the Temple of Solomon. Now, this Sistine Chapel is not a large room, only 134 feet long and 44 feet wide, with a 67-foot ceiling. The dimensions of the room are not important, but knowing the artist of the artwork is. Commissioned by Pope Julius II, the Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. On the ceiling, Michelangelo depicted nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, the center piece being the most prominent and iconic: the hand of God giving life to Adam.

One of the main rules while one is in the Sistine Chapel is that you must not take any photographs, especially with flash as the constant flashes of light damages the artwork. Security guards will only ask you once to not take a picture. Although, you see many people become creative at how they will sneak a photo.

Enough history for today. We must get to bed for it is an early departure for Pompeii tomorrow morning.

Ciao!