Stop #5 - Rome, Italy

Our European adventure culminated in Rome.  This was the country with the most dated history and the greatest retention of old monuments.  The colosseum, which has been standing for centuries, was still well maintained.  Just a piece of advice to anyone traveling, do not go to Rome in the middle of July.  It was approximately 95 degrees everyday with high levels of humidity, which is not great weather for exploring a city on foot.  I am a little more adventurous than my family and forced them to take me to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, two things with immense historical impacts in Rome.  The city of Rome was beautiful, however there was a lot of graffiti that really detracted from the beauty of the old city.  It was sad to see such an important place in history tarnished, however the city did a good job maintaining the important monuments and insuring that there was not graffiti on these buildings.  This country also housed family members, and we even got a personal tour of the Quirinal Palace (Italy's equivalent of the White House).  It was incredible looking at the architecture and hearing how every room was dedicated to a famous Italian artist.  We also visited the Vatican, which was one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  Visiting a place that is the heart of the most widespread religion in the world was incredible.  Famous artwork lined the hallways of the Gallery and Saint Peter's Basilica held so much history in the realm of religion.  Rome was difficult at times, given that we were staying in an apartment that did not have English speaking channels, and Rome also outlawed Uber and other foreign companies given the importance of the Taxi in Italy.  We had some difficult times trying to communicate with the drivers, and I would recommend learning a few Italian words of direction just in case there is an instance where they do not speak English well (also you shouldn't expect them to be adapted to English so don't get frustrated when there is a language barrier).  This was a fantastic way to round out the trip, however, given that it is one of the oldest and longest lasting cities in all of Europe and I would highly recommend making a stop in Rome to anyone who travels to Europe.

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