Last Day in Rome

Yesterday was our last full day in Rome. This city has so much charm with old buildings everywhere, dozens of squares great for people-watching, and delicious food. The only downside is that it was very hot here, which made it hard for us to do things.

Yesterday started off with a trip to the Villa Borghese Gardens to just walk around and enjoy the park. It's the biggest park in Rome and it's very beautiful!

You can also rent bikes or "karts" to ride around the park in. We saw a couple riding in a kart, and it looked like fun, so we decided to give it a try!

Umm...unfortunately that only lasted about 10 minutes! The kart was super janky and it didn't go fast enough, even though we (more like Adam) were peddling hard. I was also concerned about people seeing up my dress. Bummer....maybe next time! But we were still able to walk around and find a bench to rest at.

At around noon, we decided to hop on the bus to head to the Vatican Museum. We booked tickets in advance, and our reservation was at 1:00. It felt like it took forever for the bus to arrive, but probably because we were slowly melting in the heat.

Will find shade anywhere

The bus finally came, and off we went! After a quick snack/potty break, we arrived at the museum at 12:50, ready to take it on!

With 54 galleries, the Vatican Museum is quite extensive, and there's a LOT of people! We knew we wouldn't be able to see everything and we were mostly interested in the Sistine Chapel, so we looked at the more important works and kept on going. Another major downside to the museum is that there isn't air conditioning in most parts of the building. So my anxiety kept going on up on the count of no air, the crowds of people, and the fact that you had to go in one direction the whole time. But, I was still able to enjoy most of the museum!

3 millennia-old mummy

View from the museum

Apollo Belvedere

Laocoön (my 2nd favorite work of art at the museum)

Hall of animals

So many people! Felt like a fish in a stream

In the Constantine Room

Painting by Dalí

The Sistine Chapel was at the very end of the museum. It's the "Grand Finale", and we were really excited to be able to see it! Everything in the room was painted by Michelangelo, and it's just amazing how much work was put into the room. All the frescos on the ceiling are just mind-blowing, especially when you learn about how Michelangelo painted the ceiling (and no, he did not paint it by laying down).

Unfortunately no pictures were allowed, but we decided to recreate a portion of one of the most iconic paintings from the chapel: The Birth of Adam.

For our last night in Rome, we enjoyed some delicious food and strolled around the different piazzas. Truly the best way to spend your time in Rome!

Fortunate to have stumbled across these opera singers. They sang beautifully!

And now we are in Florence! Yippee!!