Oh, the places I've been ... (Part II)

... and the things I've seen!!!

(Day 1 - Rome. October 1, 2009)

First real day of vacation. Woke up, got ready, went downstairs to get some breakfast. Breakfast was good, but one sip of the cappuccino, and suddenly I knew why Europeans are so snobbish elitist choosy about their coffee. It was unbelievably good.



Took a few pics of the room, and headed out.


I had hoped/planned to walk and use public transportation as much as I could. After paying €55 for the taxi from the airport to the hotel, that decision was solidified.

Left the hotel around 9am or so.

There were so many little stories at each step, as it was my first time not only in Italy, but in Europe. I know effectively Zero Italian, and I was staying outside the main tourist areas, so very few people knew English - I didn't run into any of them. Just finding the shop that sells bus passes, etc. was an interesting experience. I won't digress into those too much as they really are, as I call them, "location jokes"... you had to be there :-)

Bought a day pass for €4, and took the bus towards the Coliseum. As the bus is going, I suddenly see these castle-type walls, and thought for a second... "I didn't realize there were any castles/forts in the middle of Rome."

Huge "duh" moment, as almost immediately I realized that of course... The Vatican. Aha!!!!

So a quick decision, and a change in plans. The Coliseum would be delayed by a few hours. I got off the bus, and suddenly I was in a different world - all over again. Everyone knew English and suddenly I could communicate with people again without straining the language areas of my brain, or playing charades.

Along with that came all the tour guides, and "offers" of everything that was available around there. Totally felt like a "tourist" all of a sudden. I did decide to do a guided tour of the Vatican Museum. The girl in red is Lauren, our tour guide.

It was a small group with 5 people in the beginning, and later on joined by a few more people.

Some photographs from the Vatican area, and Museum.








The Sistine Chapel was an experience in itself. Photography has been banned since the last restoration. I could have sneaked a couple of photographs, but chose to respect the ban instead.

Exiting, you walk down this cool spiral. This photo is looking back up from the bottom.


Then onto the Coliseum. Met a couple of nice people on the bus - one lady was part of a group traveling from the UK, and the other was a local. Nice conversation, and some local facts.

At the Coliseum, a quick self-portrait with my phone


Other photographs there...





A couple of views from the Coliseum.



Looking in again...



The lower part. A wooden platform was laid over the walls. The area under the platform was where the gladiators hung out, while the main action took place on the platform itself.


After being inside for a while, they kicked everyone out for the night. I was enjoying being there, so I hung around.

The obligatory self-portrait.


As the sun went down, and the moon came up, the atmosphere was unbelievable. With this photograph, I tried to capture what I was experiencing.


Then I got some food on a nearby street. What an experience - having food on the sidewalk, outside, with a view of the Coliseum.


Took a quick pic with my phone to capture the moment. The building in the back, on the right, is the Coliseum - the street leads right to it.


Took the metro back, connected to the bus. Missed my stop on the bus, and ended up walking quite a bit. Got back around 1am, and went straight to bed - had been a long, satisfying day. Tomorrow, onto more adventures...

More photographs (Rome or the whole trip) at Flickr.