Rome

Today when we got into port we hopped on a bus into Rome. We started off with all the classics. First, St. Peters Basillica.

We climbed the million steps to the top of the dome in the basillica.

The whole dome was covered in these really ellaborate and beautiful mosaics.

We got lucky and were there during a service. The monks were singing which made the mood inside there really tranquil and intreaguingly creepy.

Here is the view from the outside of the dome.

This is arch that is over the burial place of all the Popes...you can see the main alter of the basillica behind it.

Here is what the dome looks like from below. Much more impressive in real life. This is the largest church in the world!

This is the Pieta by Michaelangelo. Sculpted when he was only 23 years old.

The next stop was actually actually to another country.....Vatican City.

It is such a huge maze of art, tapestries, sculpture...etc. You really don't have a chance to take it all in, plus we only had about half a day to see as much of Rome as we could. So we pretty much strolled through the halls until we got to the Sistine Chapel

I did not take this picture....had to download it from the internet since they won't let you take pictures in there. It is kind of funny. There are all these security guards in the room yelling "No pictuers" and shooshing everyone at the same time. Like they are creating a sense of reverence with all that! This place is so stunning! I doubt I have ever seen such a concentration of artwork in one room. Michaelangelo was actually known as a sculptor and was actually second choice to paint this room. Wow!

Next on the list of absolutly incredible things to see in Rome...the anciet Colosseum.

Here is the inside of the arena, the floor has eroded away showing the rows and rows of cages that would have housed the various types of wild animals that participated in the ancient games.

We had a very fast but fantastic day in Rome.

That night the show on board was this really amazing comedy group called Second City from Chicago. They did a mix of skits and improv. So fantastic! Just as good as anything you would see on SNL. It was particularly fun because they just made fun of a bunch of the quirky things about being on the cruise. So entertaining!

This video is a little snippet of the monks singing. Enchanting!