Un Turista in Italia

Inside of the Vatican
Fountain centered in the area outside of the Vatican

The floor has been removed from the Colosseum (colosseo in Italian) to show you the underground rooms where the animals and gladiators were kept.

This was where I stayed in Rome - Hotel Shangri La Corsetti. It's not the best of hotels and English was not well spoken, but it was very close to the Metro.

I was misinformed by my fantasies of Rome. Have you watched "Letters to Juliet"? I watched it on my flight from the U.S. into Germany. I'm not sure where they were in Italy, but the scenes were filled with cobble stone streets, family vineyards, pleasantries, and romance. After fearing for my life as I drove from the airport to the hotel, I realized that the hotel website made the hotel look better than it appeared before me. I actually had a mini nervous breakdown. We later learned that most Italians do not speak Italian so we had a difficult time checking in and then settling down for dinner.

I spent a total of 4 days in Rome and by the second day my shock has worn off. What I didn't realize is that even though I was staying in the city part of Rome, the historically tourist attractions were just a few stops away on the Metro. I spent last Saturday on the hop on/hop off bus riding throughout these areas. Even when I was done seeing all that I wanted to see, I remained on the bus for a few drives on the route. Being on the top floor of the bus and letting the wind pass through my hair was so relaxing. Words will never describe how peaceful it was during the ride.

Outside of the Vatican City, I bought Morgan a beautiful necklace. The pendant was heart shaped and made of glass collected from Venice. Vatican City is actually not part of Rome. It's owned by the Church and those who stand guard of the Vatican are Swiss guards. Gotta love 'em Swiss...always neutral! I compared Vatican City and it's relationship to Rome to Washington D.C. and it's relationship with Maryland. Both areas are part of the area/state, but yet are considered separate entities.