Where are Matt and Nat?

One of the trips we took with Mum and Dad was to Rome for Easter. We flew in the evening before Easter (Easter-Eve) and after bargaining with many taxi drivers we found one that would take us to our hotel for less than €10. (The first Taxi Driver suggested we pay €30). That evening we ate some great Pizza, Nat ate one with an Egg on it...

Easter morning we watched some of the Pope's Easter service on TV, The Pope was sad we didn't attend in person. Then we headed out on the Lonely Planet's Walking Tour of Rome.

The Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

Elephant Obelisk outside Chiesa S. Minerva

Elephant Obelisk and Chiesa S. Minerva Church

Piazza Navona

Castel St. Angelo

St. Peter's Basilica

The next day we were off to do more stuff. First off we visited the Colosseum. We managed to snag a tour outside which allowed us to skip the lines... The tour was great, so great that we took the free tour of the Roman Forum that the same company offered immediately following the tour of the Coloseum.

The Colosseum

The Roman Forum

After the roman forum we snagged yet another tour. This one was to the Christian Catacombs, and it made some stops along the way. First, it stopped at a church with a statue of Moses (he had horns). I believe it was carved by everyone's favourite ninja turtle Michelangelo. The same church also had the chains that were used to crucify St. Peter. The church was called The Church of St Peter in Chains which would make a great Heavy Metal band name. The Catacombs we saw were on the outskirts of the city, these catacombs were different than the ones we saw last time, apparently there are many catacombs in Rome (over 60)

The Church of St Peter in Chains

The Christian Catacombs of Rome

After the Catacombs we went to see The Mausoleum of Emperor Augustus, and the Spanish Steps. Because it was the day after Easter, it was very busy. We took the metro from the Spanish Steps to the apartment we were staying in. The metro was extremely full and yet at each stop more people insisted on cramming into it to the point where your body contorted around objects in the train. It was probably like Japanese subways, however I can't say for sure as I've only seen pictures. Anyway because we were so packed on it made it almost impossible to get off... Nat's purse was still caught in the crowd on the way out and an old woman took it upon herself to hit Nat's arm repeatedly. I'm not sure what this was supposed to accomplish.

The Spanish Steps

The Next day we visited the Vatican Museum. Again we went with that same tour company and we skipped both the lines to the museum and to St. Peter's Basilica which was nice! Our tour guide's name was Fabio. Unlike other Fabios he kept his shirt buttoned up the entire tour.

The Vatican Museum

Last time we were in Rome we didn't get to see St. Peter's Basilica. It turns out it's huge! Fantastically huge! And everything inside is also huge. The alter is several stories high (can't remember how many).