First impressions of Roma? HOT!  I am caught in the middle of an Eurpoean heat wave. Putting this aside, Rome is a city filled with ancient buildings, a long history, and continuing significance in the world.

On the first day we walked around the ruins of the ancient Roman Forum and explored the Colosseum.

I found te Colosseum particularly spectacular. That something on such a gigantic scale was built more than 2000 years ago is astounding, even if it's purpose was less than savoury.

We also found the Trevi Fountain, under conservation sadly, but you could still see the splendour. I had no idea it was so large!

The Spanish Steps were thriving, used nowadays for concerts and as a meeting place. They used to connect the Spanish embassy with...?

Annnd the Pantheon!

Day two involved a trip to the Vatican.  I found the crowds very difficult, but it was fantastic to finally see the Sistene Chapel (no photos allowed sorry, but I'm sure you know what it looks like), and St Peters Basilica was very impressive!  What did surprise me was the the Sistene Chapel was just a room (albeit very crowded) in the middle of a building. I always envisioned it as a standalone building.

The famous dome of St Peters from the inside

It's one of those buildings that having seen it so many times on TV, it is very surreal to experience it for real.

I completed my afternoon with a coffee outside one of the many cafés, very nice :)