Italian Vacation.....The Road Leads To Rome

Are you excited to start hearing about and seeing pictures of my vacation?

I'm excited to relive it....let's see how well I remember it.

On July 4th I left Houston and met up with my cousin in Washington DC....we had a small layover so we spent our time in The United Club before it was time for our plane to take us to a vacation of a life time.

 We went first class which was wonderful on such a long flight...9 hours....but not even an hour into the flight the couple across from us with their toddler son, threw up all over himself....it had that rank smell (poor baby) but the crew was quick to get it all cleaned up and make it smell free...and then we had a drunk couple on the flight that caused a little drama...thankfully they finally went to sleep...the crew had said if they knew they were that bad they would of kicked them off the flight before we took off...I'm surprised they didn't notice cause while we were waiting to board I saw her swaying all over the place....what was goin' on in first class...anyway, our seats layed down like a bed....it was wonderful... After we were treated to drinks and a nice meal we made ourselves go to sleep...we didn't want jet-lag ...we were set to arrive in Rome at 8:30 am so we wanted to make the most of our day and not spend it in bed recovering from our flight. It was a good choice.

Welcome To Rome

 When we arrived in Rome we were greeted by our driver to take us to our hotel....when arriving... in our room the above picture was our view...The Colosseum...though it's not all there any longer I must say it is a most beautiful sight....I loved it! and loved looking at it ever time we were in the room....I was in awe.

Below is the full view from our room....what you see first is the ruins from what was where the Gladiators trained before tunneling over to the Colosseum for battle....there is no longer the tunnel due to the concrete modern day road.

 After unpacking and relaxing for a short period our guide for our Vatican visit met us at the hotel and away we went...Here is a replica of Mary holding Jesus after His crucifixion....we did see the original statue inside St Peters Basilica but it is behind a bullet proof glass....apparently a few years back someone tried to destroy it with a hammer so now it is protected.

 Outside The Vatican with St Peter's dome in the background

 Inside The Vatican

 the above and below picture go together

 Paintings and statues and tapestry's were just beautiful....it's amazing the beauty of the art from so long ago....the picture below looks as though it has a 3D effect and it's not...it amazes that back in that time period some couple hundred years AD they had down the 3D effect.

 The picture below was taken in St Peter's Basilica....most of my pictures taken inside here came out blurry due to the lighting....my cousins may of came out better but I haven't received her copies yet and didn't want to wait any longer to start posting...after all I have 2 weeks of vacation to share.

 Vatican Square....myself with our guide Antonia...she was nice and full of history...she was the perfect guide for this type of tour..I'm not a tour person but felt we would just miss something if we didn't have someone to show us and guide us...I didn't want to roam aimlessly....it was a good choice.

 The Vatican....did you know it is it's own city...separate from Rome.

 After our Vatican tour we went to a shop close by and shopped....I got my Vatican ornament...ornaments are something I like to collect from all the places and cities I visit.

After that we headed back to our hotel and freshened up and headed out for dinner....

We went to Papa Joe's that was recommended by our hotel...I just love sitting outside...it was a nice place...didn't get crowded which was nice....and this is where the wine drinking began...

Above my cousin Lonnie and myself.

Lonnie went out to the street to take my picture..cheers...the Vino is very very good.

After dinner we walked around and ended up at The Colesso (Colosseum)...just as beautiful at night as in the day....the way the lights shine on it makes it look like the glow from a fire....just breath taking.... then we stopped for our first gelato and then headed back to the hotel and decided to head to the terrace for a night cap.

Cheers to Day One...It was a VERY good day!