Honeymoon in Europe ♥ Vatican City ♥

Continuing from the previous post, after our visit to the Colosseum, we were driven to a little city enclave in Rome - Vatican City.

Note: A strict dress code is enforced (as in many other houses of worship), so have shoulders covered, wear trousers or a not-too-short dress, and take your hats off (which is the custom in churches in Europe, women must wear scarves or some thing to cover their heads.

Panorama view of the St. Peter's Square

Exterior of the square

Apostolic Palace

We have to queue to go into the church because there are security checks at the entrance. There are security scanners and they have the right to check your bags at the entrance.

The queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica

We start out queue here - but it was a very fast queue

St. Peter's Basilica interior of a Christian church in the world is so breathtakingly beautiful!! I was just in awe staring at the details of the church.

Interior in the church 01

Every part is so meticulously designed and elaborated. Best thing is we could take picture of inside the church with flash. We were allowed to do so because the color and deco in the church are decorated with marbles. This point is very different compared to other churches because other churches are paintings and color on the wall.

Interior in the church 02

Paintings on the wall

Interior in the church 03

Interior in the church 04

Interior in the church 05 + Michelle

Right outside the Basilica stands the Swiss Guards. They have on this colorful uniform and are all so tall and built! Not to mention hunky!

Swiss Guards

After we exited the church, we were directed to the souvenir shop and bought some rosaries for friends.

Fountain at the piazza

Us at the St. Peter's Square

Vatican City's blog is done. Next is to continue with the Part 1 of Rome. For more pictures of Vatican City, do check out this Facebook link.

To be continued...

Honeymoon in Europe ♥ Rome ♥ Part I

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!! I'm gonna start to blog about my honeymoon last year in Europe. I know it has been almost 6 months since I've returned from Europe, but really, there are just too many photos and too many editing to do. Plus, it was a busy period after I came back (LOL).

Ticket from SG to Istanbul, then to Rome, Italy

Our check in luggage + another 2 hand carry

Dinner at Changi Airport's Pizza Hut before boarding

Istanbul Airlines for our trip to Europe

Personal monitor for each passenger

Free wine - A little something as my "sleeping pill"

Finally in Istanbul Airport for transit - Stop for about 1.5 hours

Light refreshment before boarding for our flight to Rome - We got cheated here because we paid by Euro but the balance given to us was another lower currency.

Leaving Istanbul, going for Rome

Aeroplane traffic - First time ever, the aeroplanes are caught in the airport traffic and actually have to queue to take off

Ciao Rome! - At the Leonardo da Vinci airport

Trolley rental - We have to pay 1 Euro to rent a trolley and is not refundable

Now, enjoy the different sceneries and buildings in Rome. We were so fascinated that we snapped pictures very often from our tour bus.

First stop - Chinese Restaurant for lunch. Due to the aeroplane traffic at the Istanbul airport, we were delayed for our lunch. With late lunch, our tour group were already hungry.

Chinese food for lunch

After lunch, we took a short drive to the first destination in our itinerary. Check out some of the breathtaking sceneries shot:

Here we are finally, after hours of flight and minor jet lag, it is the ever famous Colosseum.

It was a long queue to get in to the Colosseum but because our local guide has this "special pass" for us, we just skipped the queue and went straight to the entrance.

Taking the elevator from inside the Colosseum

Here we are!! So excited to finally be able to step foot in renowned historical ruins. We've seen this sight in so many movies but to when we were finally there, it was so surreal! I cannot believe we are actually here!

The inside of the Colosseum

According to the Wikipedia, the Colosseum is capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Panoroma shot of the Colosseum from the inside 01

The weather was just perfect when we arrived. Just enough sun with light breeze. The best natural color to capture the best pictures!

Panoroma shot of the Colosseum from the inside 02

Hubby in the Colosseum

Myself in the Colossuem

First destination in our Honeymoon - DONE!

After exploring the inside of the Colosseum, we went out to look around.

Outside the Colosseum

Honeymooners at the Colosseum

Been there, done that!

And right outside the Colosseum is the Arc of Constantine. Quoting the Wikipedia, it was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

Arc of Constantine 01

Arc of Constantine 02

Michelle @ Arc of Constantine

My "professional photographer"

Bought fridge magnets - 10 Euro for 3 magnets

Panorama shot of the Arc of Constantine & the Colosseum

Part 1 of Rome done. For more pictures, do check out the link in Facebook

To be continued...