Trevi Fountain and the last of Rome pictures...

Trevi Fountain ~ An estimated 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day...

The steps... are the "Spanish Steps" (138 steps) The Scalinata is the longest and widest staircase in Europe.






As for the all the meat... LOOK AT ALL THAT BACON! I found this little jewel inside a weird market in some neighborhood near the Vatican.

And this concludes all the Rome stuff... Stay tuned for more London and Portugal...

Cheers,
WMMc

The Vatican & St. Peters Basilica - Rome, Italy

And as for the square I'm standing in... Vatican City.... Situated within the city of Rome, the Vatican is the world's smallest state...


St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican are behind me... A lil' guy named the Pope runs the show there. It houses a lil' something called the "Sistine Chapel", you may of heard of it?

Some talented artist dude who went by the name Michelangelo had something to do with... Perhaps, you may of heard of him too? The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. Contrary to popular belief, he painted in a standing position, not lying on his back. According to Vasari, "The work was carried out in extremely uncomfortable conditions, from his having to work with his head tilted upwards"

You may also notice in one the pictures... the "School of Athens"..... for those of you that aren't into artsy stuff... it was also used on the cover of Guns N Roses "Use Your Illusion" album...


The School of Athens, or Scuola di Atene in Italian, is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1510 and 1511 and located in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

You'll also notice the window where the Pope like's to hang out from time to time in one of the pictures...

All the Popes are buried beneath this circle inside St. Peter's Basilica.

As for the toe picture... well it was hanging out in one of the hallways of the Vatican and it made me laugh.

As for the view of the square, that was taken on the "front porch" of St. Peter's Basilica. The square is dominated by the largest church in the world: St. Peter's Basilica. The dome was designed by Michelangelo.

I also learned while in the Sistine Chapel that each color used has a certain meaning as well as many other things in each painting, which I did not know before, apparently there is a book out there that will explain in detail what everything means (I forget its name), but as for my tour... I learned that a cat represents "THE DEVIL"... so watch out all you cat people.

P.S. Go to Rome.

Cheers,
WMMc

The Forum - Rome,Italy

The forum was the center of political, commercial and judicial life in ancient Rome. The oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located in or near the Forum. It's within a short walk from the Colosseum.

You may be wondering, "what is that pile of dirt"?? well.... drumroll please....

The Funeral of Caesar

The corpse of Caesar was carried to the Roman Forum on an ivory couch and set up on the Rostra in a gilded shrine.

Mark Antony delivered his famous speech and a public reading of the Will of Caesar was made, while a mechanical device, positioned above the bier itself, was showing an image of Caesar made of wax, turning it round and round, so that people were able to clearly see the 23 wounds in all parts of the body and on the face. So the crowd moved by the words of Mark Antony, by the Will of Caesar and by the sight of the image of wax tried to carry the corpse to Capitol among the gods and failed. In the end the corpse was set on a funeral pile created near the Regia by using all the wooden things available in the Forum, like wooden benches, and then cremated with a great fire that lasted all the night long. It seems that the ordinary funeral had been prepared at the Campus Martius.

Once again my mind was blown... The Forum was incredible. I could almost picture everyone walking around in their toga's and leafy ring hats... It must of been quite a sight on a rainy day... or a windy day... Woo!

Cheers,

WMMc

The Colosseum - Rome, Italy

Welcome to the Colosseum located in the wonderful ancient city of Rome, Italy. Built in 70 AD and approximately finished in 80 AD. This bad boy held the gladiator games as well as executions and other public events, when you think of them you think "oh cool", but then you realize that 500,000 people and over a million animals died in that Colosseum. Killing animals was the opening act... Gross!

However, on a happier note... It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. It can could hold 50,000 spectators and when entering they even had tickets like we do today although it was written on a piece of pottery it did have a seat # and section!

When we first entered the city on the way to the hotel to drop off our bags, I saw the Colosseum for the first time with my very own eyes. It took me by surprise, like a "was that the, holy crap it is, it really is the Colosseum" moment. So I took a deep breath and just took it all in, what a perfect moment.

I will sum it up by saying that the Colosseum blew my mind. I could of wandered around in there all day. You could almost hear the Gladiator games in the background.

I love you Rome.

Cheers,
WMMc

Bag Pipes in the streets of Rome

We went to Rome for the weekend!
One of the many benefits of living in UK and being married to Mike because this was my surprise Valentine present.

Before I get into all the great things about Rome... I want to share something pretty awesome... While we were having a beer all of a sudden the Scot's invaded. Kilts all over... amongst them was a full blown bag pipe playing Scotsman. It was great!

Please enjoy the video. As you can tell he drew quite a crowd in Trastevere.

Ciao,
WMMc