Buongiorno!

What a day!! Off early this morning for a tour of the Vatican including the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica. A break in the afternoon followed by a walking tour of Rome city landmarks followed by dinner in the city.

The Vatican Museum was amazing with all the ancient artefacts, the statues, tapestries, paintings, pottery, mosaics, architecture and Ancient Rome's engineering feats.

The visit to the Sistine Chapel left us speechless. The skill and artistry of Michelangelo is just awe-inspiring. He was a painter, sculptor, architect and poet. The story-board painted on the ceiling and the walls of the Chapel are breath-taking. The Last Judgement scene on the wall above the Altar is amazing. All Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel have an appearance of being carved into the ceiling, however the 3D effect is provided only via his brilliant painting style.

Moving onto St. Peters was equally amazing and breath-taking. The architecture, statues, paintings, everything had us gasping in amazement. Being the centre of our faith, it was both moving and exciting to be standing in the middle of St Peter's Basilica. We also got close to St Peter's Square and saw where the Pope stands every Wednesday to see the people and also saw the Swiss Guards.

The Basilica is huge with a number of Chapels including: - Chapel of the Blessed Sacrement; Chapel of St Sebastian; Chapel of the Pieta; Chapel of St Peter. Every Chapel is as ornately decorated as the rest of the Basilica.

Michelangelo's influence is also seen in St Peter's. The genius and skill of Michelangelo is evident when you consider that he sculpted (out of granite) the Pietà in 1498-1499 when he was only 23 years old.

After lunch we boarded the bus for the short trip to the Colosseum. As we arrived disembarked, Mother Nature decided to open the skies and provide a deluge, the like of which are not uncommon in the summer afternoons of Queensland. By the time we were back on the bus we were all completely drenched. Our Tour Director and Trafalgar Office negotiated with the Colosseum booking office for an alternative date and we will now tour the Colosseum on the last day of the tour.

By 4:00pm the storms had passed and there was sunshine and clear skies. On the bus again and into town where a local guide showed us the hidden sights of Rome including:
- the Senate Building (of particular note with the current political upheaval in Italy at the moment)
- the Trevi Fountain - noted as the fountain used for some scenes in the 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck
- the Pantheon - commissioned by Marcus Agrippa in 126AD during the reign of Augustus as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome
- the Four Rivers Fountain noted as a setting for one of the murder scenes in Dan Brown's 2000 thriller Angels and Demons. The four rivers refer to the major rivers of the known universe at that time:- Danube, Nile, Ganges and Rio de la Plata.

Dinner at a restaurant in the amazing Piazza Navona before heading back to our hotel for a well-earned rest.

Today's insights:
- Rome has 37 McDonalds restaurants
- today the Bus & Tram Union staged an all day strike however by law are required to provide normal services for 2 hours both in the morning and in the afternoon to assist commuters to and from work
- Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Stuart) and his mother Maria Clementine Stuart (new Sobieska) are both interred in St Peters Basilica.

Arriverderci!