if you want to see rome... here it is!

today we had a driver and a van to take us to all of the sights around rome. this was an exhaustingly packed day!!

first we headed to see a church where st peter's chains are located. it was the first of many lovely churches i saw on this trip.




st peter's chains.


geez, the catholics are big on creepy skeleton dudes!! (*technically i am catholic, but not really since i was baptized but never confirmed. mom is catholic. dad was not. mom left the church when we were little. they now go to the congressional church)

after we saw the church, we went to tour the colosseum (i had to look up how to spell it, my first try was wrong wrong). now that thing was cool! i learned a lot there - i mean i knew what it was used for, but i didn't realize that they not only had guy on animal fights, but gladiators vs gladiators and that they used all sorts of animals including ostriches! it was also free to the public and could seat a huge amount of people.


anyone recognize it yet?!


here's the parthenon. it's literally across the street from the colosseum.


the fam inside.


the fam plus tonee on the left. please note the uniform of the day: your pick - blue with khaki or black polo with khaki!


one of the many varieties of weapons used there.

after the colosseum, we went slightly outside of town and saw the catacombs of san callisto (the dead were prohibited from being buries inside city walls so it's located just outside). it is the largest underground catacomb in italy (i think) and it is all hand dug over at least 4 levels!


this is the outside of the catacomb area... people are not allowed to take pictures inside so i 'borrowed' a few i found from google!


here are a bunch of burial sites. i can't remember how many people are buried there but it is some HUGE numbers. there are so many hallways and twists and turns and they only allow people in a little section of this place.





and then, it was lunch time. but, we literally had about 45 mins to eat which in italy means you'll be scarfing your food in about 2.5 mins b/c they are sloooooooow. and meals are looooong! after our very fast lunch, we met our tour guide, katherine (she was from some other european country - maybe sweden... and her name was katrina or caterina or something but she told us to call her katherine). our guide was so super informative. i mean 3 hours worth of information at a rather rapid pace. and i'll totally admit: after lunch i was exhausted and in need of a massive nap. and my feet hurt. but, we got to see some cool things in the museum and i did learn a lot. and i got to see the sistene chapel (which you may not take pictures in either).


listening to katherine explain about something in the museum. who knows. but she really was a FANTASTIC guide. i'd totally recommend her.


this guy had stained glass eyes. it creeped me out!


this was part of the base for a sarcauphacus


they had a wall of map frescoes - i loved them all! i kinda have a thing for old maps.


the ceiling in one of the hallways. this hallway has the maps on both side of the walls.

after our three hour tour of the museum, it was time to head back to the hotel for a quick rest before heading out to dinner. that evening we headed to il margutta, a restaurant that my friend laura's sister had recommended. she had lived in rome for 1.5 years with her hubby a few years back and this was one of her fav places. totally trendy. totally funky arty. in a cool part of town. and vegetarian which my brother loved b/c he's vegan. and they actually had a vegan tasting menu! check it out here: http://www.ilmarguttavegetariano.it/


now, can someone please tell me why there was a cow in front of the restaurant and in front of where the outdoor seating was?! i mean, i understand that there are arty cows all over rome, but in front of a veggie place?!