Day 3
The Colosseum!

Even cooler than I expected

Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome, Italy

These passages were covered in the gladiator days

The Colosseum at sunrise

Hanging out with the other tourists

So many selfie sticks

Rome, Italy

Roman Colosseum – this is probably where the emporer stood back in the day

Wendy and Justin at The Colosseum

Our Rick Steves guidebook had good advice on avoiding the worst of the lines. After visiting Florence later in the week, I appreciated Rome’s sites all the more because they are so huge. There are a bunch of tourists there but you don’t feel crowded because everyone can spread out. The Roman Forum was amazing and beautiful, especially imagining the soothsayer telling Caesar “Beware the Ides of March” right near where we stood.

In front of the Arch of Constantine – next to Colosseum

In the Roman Forum. “Divo Antonino et Divae Faustinae Ex S.C.” = ““To the divine Antoninus and to the divine Faustina by decree of the Senate.”

GoPro shot of the Roman Forum

After lunch we took a cab to The Vatican because our dogs were barkin’. We listened to Rick Steves describe the art and were amazed by the Sistine Chapel ceiling, where I couldn’t resist sneaking a GoPro photo despite the periodic “Shhhh… . Silencio… . No Photo… . No Video… Shhhh” over the loudspeaker. I enjoyed watching less-careful tourists get busted. One woman was immediately escorted out the emergency exit. You can take photos in most of the Vatican, just not of the Sistine Chapel.

We finished out our Vatican tour with a visit to St. Peter’s basilica and the Vatican Post where we sent postcards with Pope Francis stamps to our kids. Climbing the dome of St. Peter’s is well worth the cost and effort to get up close to the 7-foot-tall letters Tv Es Petrvs.

Vatican – Rome

Vatican City

MVSEI VATICANI

Michelangelo’s Pietà, behind glass in St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican

You Are Peter – St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican

St. Peter’s basilica – Vatican

Vatican Museum

Vatican Museum

Vatican – Rome, Italy

Vatican – Rome, Italy

By the way, you have to dress appropriately to visit most of Italy’s churches. Guards deny entrance to men in shorts and women in sleeveless blouses. Some places allow shorts that go to the knee.

Take me to Day 4