Rome - The Birthplace of western society and my personal upbringing

After leaving Croatia last week, Iain and I headed straight to Rome for four days. I have always wanted to go to Rome since I was a little kid because I knew that's where the pope lived. We had some great experiences there, including seeing the Pope speak.

The Vatican City was breathtakingly beautiful and each room of the Vatican Museums became more and more impressive.

The Sistine Chapel was one of the last rooms in the building and although the paintings inside were masterpieces done by some of Italy's most famous artists, including Michelangelo, it didn't stand out against the other rooms of the museums as much as I had predicted. I attribute this mainly to the fact that each room in itself was so intricately detailed you didn't expect the next rooms to be any better.

Despite this, I was moved by the Sistine Chapel's artistic value, time and energy that was put into it and the personal meaning it had to me.

The Colosseum was one of our other favorite attractions in Rome. When you walk into the main arena from the entrance you can't help but be in awe at the sheer size of the stones, the walls, the floors and best of all, the underground layer where the animals and gladiators waited. One end was partially rebuilt to give visitors a hand in using their imaginations of the formation of the building when it was still in tact.

The second floor displayed pieces that were still in tact from walls and pillars, so intricately carved you could see fingernails in the figures shown in the walls. These carvings gave visitors an idea of what life would have been like when the Colosseum was fully in use over 2000 years ago.

The Colosseum was one of Iain's two favorite spots and is definitely a must see if visiting Rome.
The last spot we visited which blew both of us away was the ancient Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which is basically a bunch of ancient ruins from the start of Rome over 2000 years ago.

Why was this so significant? It was pretty much the birthplace of Western Civilization!
Many of the buildings were still completely standing and whatever was left of the rubble surrounding the stable buildings had a story to tell with each step closer to the gates.

Throughout the era of the kings, the Forum was the political, religious and social centre of the Roman world. With its sence of history and situated right in the middle of Rome and surrounded by incredible gardens, walking through it gave me goose bumps. This is something I hope one day my children will see.

Overall, Rome was a little overwhelming for us in the short time we had there. Aside from the mentioned places above, we also visited the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps and many famous shopping streets. In the end Rome was especially meaningful for me because it is the home of many of the beliefs and values I was brought up with. I was very glad we got to visit it.