Our Italian Honeymoon: Vatican City

Vatican City sits within the city of Rome and is the world's smallest State.  It is home to the Pope, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum.

We spent nearly an entire day exploring Vatican City.

The Papal Swiss Guard, who protect the Pope and Vatican City.

The Sistine Chapel

"Without having seen the Sistine chapel, one can form no appreciable of what one man is capable of achieving."

-Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 1787

The Sistine chapel is absolutely breathtaking.  Everywhere you look paintings grace the walls and ceiling depicting historical events, primarily, historical Biblical events.  It was inspiring to view these events as the artists who lived before viewed them.  

We were not allowed to take any pictures once we were in the chapel, so I had to steal this picture from Google so I can remember the magnificence of the place.  When you think of the Sistine chapel, the famous Michelangelo's paintings "The Last Judgement" or "The Creation of Adam" might come to mind, but there are so many other marvelous works that also line the ceiling and walls.  You neck starts to hurt from looking up so often.  

One of the aspects that I loved about Italian culture was the respect they have for the many chapels and churches that dwell in the city.  In the Sistine chapel, you are forbidden to talk.  Even whispering will draw an angry eye from the guards that line the room.  You also must dress modestly, girls cannot wear shorts or have their shoulders showing. 

Would you believe that every time, I mean EVERY TIME we decided to visit a church that day I happened to forget my cardigan.  I bought several for the occasion and left every one of them in the hotel room (and one I accidentally left in the seat of a Taxi)

So that's why I'm wearing lots of lovely plastic "shawls" in all of our pictures.

The Vatican Museum

The Vatican Museum leads the way to the Sistine Chapel.  It houses many great pieces of art, sculptures, artifacts and other regalia.  It's beautiful.

Mummys in the Vatican Museum

The crazy thing about Rome is you become so accustomed to seeing God's creativity.  It's present in the architecture, the people, the sculptures, paintings.  It's everywhere.  God is an artist.  I think I took it for-granted while I was there, because, like I said it was everywhere.  Now looking back on pictures, can I really appreciate the beauty we were allowed to see.  

  

This is a picture of the many Bibles that have been used throughout the centuries by the various Pope's.

This is a painting by Raphael called "The Disputation of the Last Sacrament".  It depicts many historical figures such as popes, cardinals and Dantes.  

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Bascilica is considered one the of the largest churches in the world, and one of the holiest Catholic sites.  It is the burial site of St. Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.  

  Us, in St. Peter's Piazza

Can you imagine the excitement to stand in St. Peter's Piazza this past March when Pope Francis was announced as the newly elected Pope?  What a day to be in Vatican City.

To say St. Peter's Bascilica is huge would be an understatement, it's massive.  I've never walked into a church anywhere near as large.  

This picture does not do it justice.  Each hallway on the side goes into another area that is just as large as the first.  

Known as the "Apse".  The golden clock behind it is magnificent.  

Behind us, in the distance is the altar where St. Peter is believed to be buried beneath.  

What is absolutely amazing about Italy is that everything holds historical significance.  Every piece of art, architecture, and ruin.  The Italians live among history and do not bring attention to it.  They leave it be, and let the history speak for itself.

For example,  Jeremy knew the "Pieta", Michelangelo's famous sculpture of Mary holding Jesus, was housed in St. Peter's Basilica, however we did not know where.  We were determined to find it and as we turned a nondescript corner, there is was.  Simply named "Pieta".  That's all.  No description.  No pomp and circumstance.  Perhaps one of the greatest sculptures we will ever experience, and the Italians just let it speak for itself.

Everything in the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica was truly heart-stirring.  The grandeur and splendor was like nothing I had ever seen.  It really made me think about heaven.  If places this spectacular exist on Earth, what will Heaven be like?  How beautiful and awe-worthy will the place where our Lord dwells be?  I know it will lead us to worship.  

“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Revelation 4:11

Our Italian Honeymoon: Villa Borghese Gardens, The Spanish Steps & The Trevi Fountain

Our plane landed in Rome around noon.  After we found our hotel and freshened up a bit, we went exploring.  First stop was to find a good piece of pizza.  Actually,  in Italy, a "piece" of pizza is an entire pizza.  But hey, I'm not complaining.  I love Margarita pizza and Italy did not disappoint.  After filling our stomachs, we walked to Villa Borghese Gardens which wasn't too far from our hotel.

The gardens are similar to Central Park in New York City, minus the Zoo.  There are walking trails, vendors renting out bicycles, scooters and trebachets.  There are also several museums within the gardens.

 This is an old home that now houses a modern art collection.  I love to picture the type of family that might have lived there.  Could you imagine the lives they must have led?  Before we went to Rome I had read the "Mark of the Lion" series by Francine Rivers.  It really brought the history of Rome to life for me.

Unfortunately we could not do as much walking around the gardens as we had hoped.  I have an old leg injury that loves the continually give me problems.  Flying makes it swell really badly and I was having a lot of pain from the swelling that day.

I convinced Jeremy to rent a trebachet to drive around the park.  How fun!  It was a blast getting to see the park this way.  Well... it was for me :)  Jeremy did all the peddling.

There were many temples throughout the gardens.  What a crazy world it must have been during a time when people openly worshiped multiple gods and built temples to honor them.  

 There are so many fountains around the city of Rome and honestly this is only one of two fountains that I saw people putting their feet in.  It's actually considered to be very disrespectful to put your feet into a fountain, so I'm assuming these are all tourists.

The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are center of one of Rome's social scenes.  Locals and tourists alike gather to sit on the steps to people watch, or wonder through the alley's below full of high-end shopping.  It was about 2 miles from our Hotel, so Jeremy and I would often stroll by here during our stay.  

The alley's below house well known fashion icons such as Valentino, Gucci, Luis Vuitton and so on.  What amazes me is Italians LOVE designer brands.  Nearly every Italian I saw from the high class to low class carried a Luis Vuitton bag.  You would have thought they were exceptionally cheap in Italy, but they were even more expensive there than in the States.  

The Trevi Fountain

About 1/2 mile from the Spanish Steps is one of my favorite places in all of Rome.  The Trevi Fountain.  It is the largest fountain in the city.  Throwing a coin in the fountain is suppose to ensure you a safe trip back to Rome.  (However, we just realized we threw our coins over the wrong shoulder!  Oh well, hopefully we will return to Rome anyway!)

It is an excellent place for people watching.  It's amazing the different cultures you can observe while in Rome.  It's also peaceful to just listen to sounds of the fountain.

Around the Trevi are many alley's of food and local shops featuring wine, olive oils and other delicatessen.  The eateries are just what you would imagine.... little outdoor cafes with very entertaining waiters.  It was always hard to choose which place to stop at for dinner each night.

The area surrounding the Trevi also has some of the best gelato in the city.  Our favorite was at a shop called "San Crispino".  It was hard to find, but once we found it we realized that it came so highly recommended.  We tried several different flavors of gelato, but in our opinion, the limon (lemon) is the best.  We still crave it.  Most days we had gelato twice a day.  I think if we could go back Jeremy would eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It was THAT good.

Our Italian Honeymoon: Rome, The City

I'm not sure exactly what I envisioned in my mind when I thought of Rome.... sand and ruins maybe?  What I did not picture was a large city, but that's just what Rome is.... a HUGE city!  New buildings built directly next to old buildings, and in between sit ancient crumbling ruins, touched only by the wars that led to their demise.  Alleys that lead to more alleys with Piazzas (Plaza's) in between promoting local art, wine, olive oils, and of course Gelato :)

We could have spent weeks roaming the streets of Rome and still not touched most of the city.  We learned that in order to truly appreciate the value of the Italian life, you must do as the Italians do.  Sleep in late.... stroll through the city investing in whatever catches your attention, and then enjoy slow, conversation filled dinners.  Oh... and you must eat Gelato as often as possible.  The limon is the best, in our opinion :)

I thought the climate of Rome was very strange.  VERY hot.  So, So, So hot.  No need to wear makeup because you would sweat if off the moment you walked out of the hotel.  It was very rare to see an Italian woman dressed up like we do in the South.  They were very natural, no make-up, natural hair.... My hair stayed up in a bun practically every day.  I should have brought more headbands :)  Also, they have palm trees and other vegetation that you would expect to see near an ocean, yet they are still 2 hours from the coast.

 Many of the aqua ducts that once brought the entire city of Rome indoor plumbing still work and run through fountains throughout the city.  You just bring a water bottle and can have icy cold, clean water from the fountains all day long.  It was really neat and definitely needed with the hot weather!

Italians are CRAZY drivers!  Like... hold your breath and say a little prayer that you don't die kind of crazy.  I felt like our lives were at risk each time we stepped into a cab.  They don't obey the laws of traffic.  They don't stop at red lights, stop signs are non-existent, and I did not see a single speed limit sign in the entire city.  Another thing about Italian driving is they drive super-small cars, think Fiats, and they will park ANYWHERE they can!  When you walk next to the cars you can see that they are all banged up from trying to squeeze into so many tight parking "spots".  

Everything is Italy is small and compact.  Even the hotels.  It really made us realize how much luxury we have in America that we take for-granted.  Like big elevators....

Our Italian Honeymoon: Traveling

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would go to Italy on my honeymoon.  Traveling halfway across the world, to a country I had never been, experiencing things both of us had never experienced was a wonderful way to start our marriage and the Lord surely blessed us in allowing us the opportunity to go.  We are already planning our next trip overseas (which, will not be for a few more years, but hopefully not too long from now!)

The day after our wedding we woke up early and headed to the airport.  We flew to Chicago and had a layover there.  Just enough time to eat lunch and explore the airport a little bit.  I LOVE airports!  I love the people watching, all the good food, neat stores.... I just love them!  Jeremy thinks I'm weird, but I really would go to airports all the time if I could!  International airports I feel differently about, but more on that later.

(I just LOVE seeing a wedding ring on his finger!)

After our layover in Chicago we were headed across the pond :)  It was a long, 8 hour plane ride, but we had an awesome airplane to ride in.  It was my first long plane ride overseas, other than being a little cramped at times, it wasn't bad at all.  We landed in Madrid, Spain and just had one more quick flight before arriving in Rome.  As soon as we landed in Madrid, I could not wait to get something to eat.  I was STARVING and we all know how good airplane food is :)  Well..... little did I know, International Airports are nothing like American Airports.  Although we landed in Madrid around 7 am, nothing in the airport was open!  Not to mention, the plethora of restaurants that blankets American Airports was non-existant there.  All we could find were vending machines containing foreign snacks accepting a currency we had not yet exchanged.  Ignoring my grumbling stomach we boarded our flight to Rome anticipating the amazing Italian food we would eat when we arrived.

As soon as we landed in Rome we started praying that our luggage also landed with us.  I imagined the horrors of being on my honeymoon without everything I packed (that Jeremy insisted I was silly for bringing) "YES dear I am bringing my make-up, YES dear I DO need to pack 5 pairs of shoes....""  Soon though our luggage made it's appearance on the baggage carrel and we were on our way.  After we found a currency exhange.... and bought a coke....