Rome, Part 1...

Getting to Rome on Thursday afternoon, we couldn't wait to go out and hit some of the sites we had heard so much about.  We got a map from the hotel, and decided to head toward the Spanish Steps.  Now, why these are famous, I really don't know, but many "famous" people have come here, so of course we had to too!  Here we are in front of them:

The view from the top.  Seriously, this city was PACKED with tourists everywhere!!!

We walked up to the top of the steps, and wandered a little farther to a huge park, where we found this cool sculpture of a clock by Salvador Dali.  

Lane was hot, tired, and rather miserable.  We decided to try some Segways for the first time.  That was a great way to see this huge park with all the statues, ponds, people, etc.  It was really fun!

After the park, we walked down to the Piazza Popodopoli.  Wow, this place was huge and cool!

Here is a statue of an American on his cell phone.  No, wait, it is Lane conducting business from the piazza!  No rest for business owners, right?  He needed the break, and that was OK, because while he was sitting there, I discovered that Michael Jackson really isn't dead!  He is performing nightly in the Piazza Popodopoli!!!

Then, we went to one of my favorite places in Rome.  The Trevi Fountain.  WOW, WOW, WOW.  It is so crazy that you are walking down this little narrow street, and all of a sudden there is this huge amazing fountain against some building at this little plaza.  It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but it was so beautiful, amazing, and CROWDED!!!  We of course threw a coin in the fountain, guaranteeing our return to Rome and this beautiful place.  Keep your fingers crossed that it comes true.

Later, after pizza and gelato (of course) we walked up a street and found this cool fountain of Triton in the middle of a glorietta.  There are statues and fountains everywhere!!

The next morning, we got up and headed to the Vatican where we took an amazing tour of the offices, apartments, museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basillica.  Words really can't describe what an amazing and awesome place it all is.  Wow, wow, wow again!!

A global monument gifted to the Vatican by a famous person that I can't remember!

In front of St. Peter's square

Michaelangelo's Pieta
(a huge no no to take the picture, but I think we got sick of everyone else taking pictures of everything you shouldn't, so Lane finally took one!)

St. Peter's Basilica

The amount of information you receive about Michaelangelo, Raphael, the Popes, the Vatican City, the Basilica, etc. is really overwhelming. I am going to list for myself a few of my favorites that stick out from the tour:

• Michaelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel totally against his will. He considered himself a sculptor, not a painter, and didn't want to paint it.  However, the Pope prevailed, and he spent 3 years standing on a scaffolding with his head tilted back, painting the ceiling.  He had neck problems the rest of his life from that.
• Michaelangelo was given about the equivalent of $500,000 for painting the ceiling.  Not too shabby eh?
• Michaelangelo didn't paint again until 20 years later, when he was commissioned again to paint The Last Judgement on the wall of the Sistine Chapel.  He again didn't want to do it, but was coerced into it.  He was told by one of the cardinals that he needed to cover the people up - as most of them are naked in the painting.
• The Vatican City brings in about $1.2 BILLION dollars a year from tourism.
• There are 800 people who live in the Vatican City.  That makes them the highest earning per-capita in the world.  
• The Pope's apartments on the lower floors were never occupied again after Pope Alexander the Naughty.  He was a naughty pope who did naughty things.  One of which was father 6 children. (oops!)  After he died, no one wanted to live in his rooms, so they built new apartments upstairs and commissioned Raphael to paint all of those rooms.  They are amazingly painted, and almost every square inch is painted in such rich color with people and history, it is cool.
• St. Peter's Basilica is one of the biggest in the world.  And it is very big, and every square inch is covered in marble, statue, or painting.  Words can't describe.  But someone sure had a LOT of money!!   

That afternoon, we hopped on a train for Civitivechia which is the port where we would get on the Royal Caribbean Grand Mariner of the Seas! :)  We were so very excited!!