What The Sistine Chapel Looks Like (and other assorted Roman and Florentine places))

After we left Venice (with a short stay in Padova) we started on our way to Rome. I'd have to say, my favorite thing about Rome was to wander among the ruins. There's not much that's truly amazing and horrifying at the same time, but this city had an abundance of landmarks that left me with this feeling. We arrived at night and took a wonderful walk down to the Colosseum. 

 Look at the size of the humans compared to this place! It was much, MUCH grander than I thought. The knowledge of what it was used for made walking around it much more scary than you would think.

( can you find the famous Creation of Man scene?) 

(did you know Michelangelo painted this entire ceiling and laying flat on his back - paint sometimes dripping into his eyes?) Amazing.

The next morning we decided to go to the Vatican City and tour  the museum and the Sistine Chapel. That was probably one of the most horrible museum experiences I have ever had.  Let's just say the NYC Subway doesn't even begin to describe how crowded the ENTIRE museum was. (and I'm from NYC, remember?) By the end of the 2 hours we shuffled shoulder to shoulder with everyone else, we were sweaty, smelly, thirsty and just glad to be out. I should also mention that Rome was having a severe heat wave this day. 

One thing you should know about this: while you're shuffling along  in the corridor and stairs leading into the Sistene Chapel, you'll hear an announcement in about 6 different languages: "You are about to enter the Sistene Chapel. Please remain silent while in the Sistene Chapel. No Photos Please." (haha, like that's going to happen. (there were about 2,000 of us in the chapel at once) The next thing you should know is that when you actually get inside the Chapel, there will be 5 or 6 security guards shouting "SILENCE PLEASE!" about every other second. So much for the silence. 

 The beautiful pines of Rome. 

There were lot of colorful mailboxes in the Vatican City. It's "the thing" to send a postcard home from the Vatican.

 A few days later we traveled to Florence, a beautiful city in which we had only 4 hours. The heat wave was still in full boom (one of the hottest in history, by the way) and we were anxious to get to our next destination- the Italian Riviera. (hello, beach!)

The bridge above is the Ponte Vecchio - extremely old (built in the 12th century) and beautiful.  Originally built for shops selling gold and silver it has changed very little since then. It still has the quaintest shops selling.....gold and silver. 

 A view of Florence from a little garden on a hill I found.

Church where Galileo and Michelangelo are burried. 

So there my friends, in a tiny-little nutshell, are some picts. from our time in Rome and Florence. You should know that the best gelato I've ever had (and we had some almost every day in every city) (it's the only way to keep cool) is in Florence.