Europe Part2 - About Rome!

Firstly before I start writing about Rome, just wanted to provide some updates regarding my mum...Thanx for all your prayers, she's all well and the biopsy test result was finally out - nothing harmful..."PHEW"

Visiting Rome has always been one of My dreams, so I was really excited as we landed in Rome Fiumicino Airport on 21 Sept, around 1pm. Since we were in Rome for 5 days 4 nights, we have been to almost all the tourist spots and I figured that if I were to write every single details down, this post will probably get too lengthy...so, I'll just summarize it and share some photos with u!

Before I start talking about visiting places, I must say:"I really really love the varieties of Italian pasta available in Rome and the fantastic thin crust pizza there! I totally fell in love with them!" We tried Rotelle, Ravioli, Tortellini, Risoto, Fusilli, Rigatoni and ofcoz Spaghetti and many types of pizza. Personally my favourite pasta is still Tortellini, which I have never had in Malaysia...

On day 1, we only have time to cover Fontana di Trevi (photo below) and Piazza Barberini.

On day 2, we started our day really early at Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus) which is an oval basin, nearly 600 meters long, was once a race track which could hold up to 200,000 spectators. Then we went across the street to The Palatino (The Platine Hill), which was the first nucleus of city life in ancient Rome and thereafter became the Imperial Headquarters.

From there, we walked through the Arco di Costantino (Arch of Constantine) which is situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, built after Emperor Constantin's victory on October 28 in 312AD.

As we walked down the path, I was amazed when I saw the Colosseo (Colosseum) in front of me! I must say, this is really one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering...Its construction started between 70 and 72 AD, and was completed in 80 AD. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests.

After Colossuem, we went to the magnificent Pantheon, originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome but later consecrated as a Catholic Church. The building's dome, more than 43 meters high is most impressive. At the top of the dome is a large opening, the oculus, which was the only source of light.

On day 3, we first went to the famous Sunday Flea Market in Porta Portese. Fantastic shopping and great bargain!!!

Then after a late lunch, we went to Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) in Vaticano (Vatican City). I believe this impressive building is the largest church in the world, with capacity of over 60,000 people. Near the entrance of the Basilica, there were few famous Swiss guards in their uniform...The interior of the building is just amazing...

On Day 4, we went to San Giovanni, visited the Basilica of San Giovanni, and did some shopping in that area too. Basically this is like our shopping day...so after S. Giovanni, we also went to Piazza Venezia & Piazza Navona. Ofcoz we also shopped at the famous Via del Corso and took picture at the Spanish steps.

Day 5 is when we took our flight to London at night, so we only had limited time in Rome...There is this one important spot which we have not covered so far and we left it to the last day - Foro Romano (The Roman Forum). The site looks like a disorderly collection of ruins to the uninitiated...including temples, basilicas, arches, senate house, law courts and others. The Forum was the marketplace of Rome and also the business district and civic center.