Our first stop was Rome, one of the places that Chris and I have always wanted to visit together. We woke up early and headed to the "Stardust Lounge" to wait for our tour number to be called. Try to picture an immensely crowded room, filled with anxious cruisers, all of whom just know that THEY will be the ones who missed their tour! It was quite comical actually! Anyway, our number was called and we were soon herded to the buses. Our tour guide, bless her heart, seemed to have done one too many tours of Rome and wasn't just the most enthusiastic lady we've ever met. Thankfully, she's the only one who seemed to be this way, as all of our other guides were unbelievably helpful & kind. But, we did get to see all the major sites. 
The Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and many of the arches that leave their mark throughout the city. We then headed to Vatican City and the beautiful St. Peter's Basilica. It was so fun to look out and see the same view that the Pope has each time he speaks from the church steps. We stood in a seemingly never-ending line (there's a picture of us standing in it on the left), but eventually made it inside the most spectacular church we have ever seen. The sheer size of it is enough to move you, but add to that the beautiful mosaics, sculptures, writings and design, and it just simply takes your breath away. We saw Michelangelo's "pieta`", which is now my most favorite work of art. It just leaves you speechless when you see it in person. We were also impressed wit
h the 9 foot tall letters around the dome that had this message: "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven....". Such magnitude and grace. I just can't explain how beautiful it was. We ended our tour there, did a little shopping in St. Peter's Square, and (of course) had some wonderfully delicious gelatto before getting back on the bus. The day was everything that we hoped it would be!
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