We had a crazy 5 day whirlwind tour of Rome, which left me exhausted but in awe. In high school I studied Latin for 4 years, and it was wonderful to see the Pieta, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum, which we studied in depth in the course. Rome is just one of those places you have to visit, as photos just don’t do it justice.
But I’ll try – here goes:
One of the first things we saw was the amazing ruins of the Roman Forum. You can read all about the forum here. It served as a marketplace and where government officials would make speeches, etc. A town square.
I’m sure you’ll all recognize our next stop – the Colosseum. Events such as the gladiator battles and other distractions for the masses took place here.
There is just a small bit of “floor” left, so visitors can see the labyrinth of cells and stalls where animals were kept before a trap door would open and they would enter the arena.
The below is Palatine Hill, where there is are many ruins of the palace and grounds of Emperor Augustus. It was a massive site.
Above is the famous Trevi fountain. Beautiful but it and the surrounding area is always packed with tourists.
We randomly went into this cathedral one afternoon and it was such a surprise – I’ve seen a lot of cathedrals and the ceiling of this one leaves you breathless. It’s the Church of San Ignazio. I definitely recommend checking it out. The trompe l’œil is so good – the characters look like they are climbing up the walls. Behind the main painting, the “dome” is trompe l’œil as well!
The amazing Pantheon. The work they’ve done to restore this building is amazing. The original was constructed in 31 BC, and rebuilt in 126 AD, which is what you see today. It’s still the largest unreinforced concrete dome, and has always been in use throughout history.
The 
The heartbreaking and beautiful Pietà, by Michelangelo.
St. Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City. The Basilica houses the Pietà
St. Peter’s square, in Vatican City.
And below- the amazing Sistine Chapel. There aren’t really words so I won’t bother.
We stayed in an apartment in the neighborhood Trastevere. It’s not super overrun my tourists and we wanted to see where the locals ate and lived.
Here’s a list of all my posts from our travels that I’ve published –
Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia – Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia – the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains – Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona
Italy
• Not to miss – the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy’s Cinque Terre
