1st day in Roma!

Our ship docked in Civitavecchia, then we walked to the train station to get to Rome. It was about 1 hour maybe 1 hour 20 minutes to get to our first stop which was Vatican City.

We were so excited to be back here (our first time was in 2007). This time we took some audio guides that were a lot easier to understand and they kept us moving so we could see more. I would totally recommend taking along an MP3 player with downloads from either Rick Steve's or another sight, I really like Italyguides.it. For one they speak English compared to a live guide with an Italian accent. Rick can run on and on and I found myself zoning out but, it was usually very good and interesting. We started in the museum. I will show you some of my faves in the museum.









Pictures cannot be taken in the Sistine Chapel so I downloaded this beauty.

Then into St. Peter's Basilica which is absolutely gorgeous. St. Peter's Basilica stands on the traditional site where Peter - the apostle who is considered the first pope - was crucified and buried.
St. Peter's tomb is under the main altar (at the right with the dark wood) and many other popes are buried in the Basilica as well.

Michelangelo's beautiful Pietá (pity) was incredible! He carved this when he was 24 years old.

The gang in St. Peter's square, I think Paul is looking for a helicopter or something! (Angel's and Demons).

For the remainder of the first day we took in some other sites like Trevi Fountain. The fountain is an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water.

The Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna that connects the Piazza to a French church (Trinità dei Monti) on top of the hill via a long staircase. The elegant staircase consists of 137 steps over twelve different flights. We climbed them all!

We had to PACE ourselves for the second day so we were off to catch the train. We had to get back to the ship to eat and sleep before the 2nd day began.