Our second day in Rome was dominated by the Colosseum, the Forum and nearby Palatine Hill. We also found an opportunity to wander across the Tiber and walk around a bit on one of its islands.
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At the Colosseum, you can get your photo taken with the cheesy “gladiators.”
A nice view of the Tiber, below:
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This is what’s left of the famous Circus Maximus (right): 
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The Roman Empire plundered the world, and their successor, the Roman Catholic Church, continued the tradition. Most people think of the Sistine Chapel in relation to the Vatican Museum, but it holds vast treasures which put the Sistine, as interesting as it is, to shame. We checked it out on our last day in Rome.
As with many other palaces, museums etc in Italy, every inch was decorated.
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Some of the art seemed cross-cultural–this decorated end of a chariot spar reminded me of Viking art.
The Romans were a playful yet brutal people. To “celebrate” the opening of the Colosseum, over nine thousand animals were killed. And yet, they created works of art like this charming sculpture:
We got a great view of the Italian Alps from one of the museum’s upper floors:
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The Vatican Museum was quite a slog. After, we went to a nearby restaurant for pizza, and noticed the local version of the CSI investigating a traffic collision:
Odd to see the victim’s handprints on the car that hit her!
After that charming interlude, we headed back to St. Peter’s Square but decided not to struggle through the basilica–next time!
That night, we packed up and headed to a Fiumicino hotel because we had to get to the airport early…and so ended our amazing trip to wonderful Italy. Laura and I are already picking out sights we want to see next trip!
