OH! Ho! Ho! that Christmasy Feeling

You would expect things to go back to normal once I put our mother on the coach home, however I went off shopping to sort a few last bits for the Christmas tree and soak in the christmasy atmosphere on O'Connell Street for the turning on of it's Christmas Tree and whilst getting a free packet of Tayto, I got my photo taken with Mr Tayto, sure be rude not to. On the route home, hopped into the Church of Adam and Eve, the National Shrine to St. Anthony, to check it out.
                   
The craziness continued on, with Bernadette, Helen and Myself going for a night at the dogs in Harold's Cross  on the Tuesday for a mini work night out, which I had free entry into, thanks to my bus ticket from my last journey up from home. After a few mins of checking things out, we all got settled in and started placing a few bets on and getting the drinks in. We all had such a laugh and fun and there was a slight Christmas atmosphere about the place, due to the Christmas Parties around. I surprisingly managed to finish out ahead with my bets which was a pleasant surprise and capped off a great night out. Later in the week, on the Friday night was the Hospitality Staff Christmas night out, although Nicole and myself were working late in work, we both got changed and met everyone else out in town later. By the time, we met them most people were on a good buzz and for some reason ended up in a club in Portobello called Rain. Didn't take us too long to get into the spirit and fun of the night. It was such a random and interesting night, the way most work nights out are. The following day was spend recovering watching crap on TV under a duvet, only way a hangover day should be spent. To finish off my weekend off decided to go shopping and treat myself to a mini Christmas pressie.

 To start off the week right, +Niamh managed to get us 2 tickets for Fleetwood Mac, I booked our train tickets home for Christmas and we received our first Christmas Cards of the season. By time Friday came, we were excited to go see Gloria, a GLB choir who were performing at +StPatricksCathedral Dublin for their Christmas Concert, which was turning into an annual tradition. The concert itself was sold out with over 1300 people in attendance. A particular highlight was the all male version of Santa Baby and like every year, Gloria gave an amazing festive filled performance.

After literally a day from hell in work on Saturday, luckily I had Niamh's home made cake with ice cream to make things better while watching Strictly, which made me happy out. To top off the week, Niamh and myself decided to attempt the 12 pubs of Christmas after I finished work on that Sunday. The fun all began, in the Brazen Head, which is Ireland's oldest pub and worked our way through various pubs which all started to mesh together.

Things started to get a tad foggy after around pub 10/11 but all and all, it was quite a fun night experiencing such different pubs, some which I had never been in before. Surprisingly enough I felt right as rain the next morning which was a shock to both Niamh and myself.

Lucky enough I had no hangover as I had to work that evening, which was a tad annoying as I had won tickets for +Dumb To thanks to +cluborange and +Universal Pictures Ireland in the +Savoy Cinema, lucky enough Niamh went instead, was happy that the tickets weren't wasted despite slaving away in work, so she could enjoy herself.

Luckily enough that Niamh noticed that she had a missed call from the electrician during her shift at work, I quickly rang him back, and he was nice enough to call around straight away and finally sort out our issue with the boiler, although he didn't get finished until midnight and we both were up at 5.30 am for work. It was worth the lack of sleep as in the morning, I had the best shower in weeks which was like heaven. Although I was working so early, at least I was finished and home before work became crazy altogether which was nice. I ended up having a nap on the couch under my new fleece batman dressing gown and then when I woke up, I was all set and ready for my Chinese takeaway and heading into town to meet Niamh at the +TheGeorgeBar Dublin for Bingo and the Christmas show which was great craic as ever. Although Niamh went home towards the end of the show, I decided to stay out as I met up with mates of mine and somehow ended up in 4 Dame Lane until 3 am, despite getting up at 7 am for work, will I ever learn, seems unlikely. Niamh and myself were chilling when our dad rang, if we could get him a few bits from town, although we were finished ourselves, off out into town we went shopping, which ended up being fun, as always the way ended getting more than we planned and had a lovely meal out too, before finally getting home about 10.30.

At least we both had a slight lie in, the following morning we organised everything for our journey home for Christmas. When we arrived at Heuston Station to board the train, we got a plenty surprise to discover that we were travelling home 1st Class. People only on the list were even allowed to enter the 1st class carriage and was been guarded by the conductor. The journey home was so comfortable with the extra leg and we had fun and laugh with other passengers around us which was nice. After arriving into Ennis, we were collected by our dad, and then we dropped into our mother at work, to wish her a Happy Birthday, which made her day. Later that night, after a home cooked meal and surprising her with a cake, we headed out to a Christmas Party night at An Shibeen in Doora, where I actually won a prize for best Christmas Jumper. We all had such a brilliant night and our mother said best birthday in years.

 When we were leaving the next afternoon for our Granny's, a neighbour's big dog started climbing onto the car, which definitely showed to me that I was back in the countryside. For my first Christmas mass in over 4 years, we went to a wee country church which was packed to the rafters for the Children mass which had an amazing singer, band, kids choir and Fr. Ted Crilly type priest, wasn't sure if it was like a concert or a religious event, which was hilarious to witness. As it tradition, later that night ended up back at the local pub, the Bogdale House near our Granny's. It was almost 3 am before we got home to bed, I would say that was a rare thing, but my last Christmas home 4 years ago, was about the same time then too. Before bed as is tradition, we swapped our Christmas presents, everyone seemed happy with their presents which is always good. Christmas morning was all go from the onset, with the calls and visitors wishing our Granny a Merry Christmas and preparations for the dinner underway.

After only a slight lie in, before the calls and visitors began to arrive at my granny's. The merriment and drink which started so early, should have told me how the day was to pan out. We finally made our way down to my Uncle's for Christmas dinner which was a joint effort between my mother and aunt. With all the food and the heat, the food coma had settled in and didn't want to go. I nearly swear I've never eaten and drank so much on Christmas day. We finally got back to my granny's about 9.30 that night, after a visitor arrived down and played some music. People started to drift off to bed gradually, as per usual I was last to bed. It was definitely one of the best Christmas in years, fun and craic was had by all.

The Westend Trap

With life finally getting back to normal now, everything unpacked, settled into the new place completely, thought it was time to finally pay the donation I owed Padre Pio, that I promised him, during the stress of finding a place to live. Managed to find a Capuchin Order Friary on Church Street near Smithfield.

As is usually my nature in the lead up to Christmas, I went Christmas shopping around the October mid term. As I am working in retail too long, that I won't think of doing it after mid November when all the offers I'm after are over. We soon found out we were better prepared than we thought and thought we'd unwind after a hard day, decided to crave out a pumpkin, something neither of us had done before, which was kinda fun and put us into spooky Halloween spirit. To my shock and painful horror, on Bank Holiday Sunday night when talking to Niamh from the Kitchen, I didn't notice a loose skirting on the floor and caught the soles of both my feet, which tore and hurt like hell. Luckily Niamh was on hand to take care of the wounds. It definitely pays to have a nurse in the family.

Thanks to my mother, I won a competition in the Sunday Times for a +TullamoreDEW whiskey tasting masterclass in the Palace Bar on Fleet Street. The whole event was quite entertaining and informative and I left with a Tullamore DEW goodie bag with a hip flask and glasses which was nice. About 2 days later, i enjoyed my first mince pie of the season +M&S followed by the complimentary whiskey I received from +tullamoredew, which was a surprisingly delicious mixture. 

After a hard busy week, I was looking forward to the comfy train journey home to Clare despite the 6am rise. After a quick coffee with the mother on her morning break, it was off home, where I thought I was just home to relax, where I quickly found out, I ended up helping my dad move some of my stuff over the years, that was a trip down memory lane. To round off my weekend home, we visited my Gran, who didn't know I was home and surprised her with a birthday cake and presents from Niamh and myself for her 92nd birthday. I seemed to bringing back more stuff on the bus journey than I had going home, isn't that always the way.

                                     

A play I've been dying to see for years was Mousetrap, finally got a chance to go see it at the Bord Gais Theatre, the set and the cast were amazing. The whole mystery plot and the disclaimer they tell the audience at the end to keep the secret over the plot is a clever one, which doesn't spoil the show for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. we already planning our next trip to the Bord Gais on the Luas home. Then on Thursday when got the members email about offers for 1 Man 2 Guvnors. I contacted them by email that evening about the offer, and of course received missed calls back and forth Friday and Monday. But when I also got an unexpected missed call from my mother around same time, I rang her back to find out, she won a pair of tickets to that show and was able to change them for me for the Thursday performance, which gave us something to love forward to. Come Thursday I met Niamh on route to the Grand Canal, where we got a nice bite to eat at Herb Street before the show followed by a pre show drink. Throughout the show and even during intermission the shows Skittle band The Craze performed who were very good. A particular highlight was the improv which Gavin Spokes performing as the lead Francis had to perform due to a sketch that went pear shaped, which however had the whole audience in stitches. Between the music, the band, the improv and comic timing, I not laughed so much in an ages exactly what the doctor ordered. When we got home, we watched the Glasnevin documentary One Million Dubliners which I felt was a quite powerful and emotional film and nearly had me in tears at the end over Shane Mac Thomais.

Which was starting to turn into a weekly trip to BGE Theatre, this time to see Westend Women, Joanna Ampil, Ria Jones and Kerry Ellis, 3 leading ladies of the Westend, who have starred in some of the biggest shows such as Wicked, Cats, Evita, Les Mis and Miss Saigon. I was dragging Niamh  to the show to see Kerry Ellis, as I was lucky enough to see her as Elphaba in Wicked in Westend. The feel of the show was fun, and ended being such unforgettable magical night with everyone singing and dancing along during the encore.

On Wednesday, our mother came up to visit for a few days, with a few touristy things planned during her stay and her promise of home cooked food, which had us excited. As I was working, My mother was lucky enough to collect my keys from the concierge. After a quick change and had some of my mother's freshly home made soup, we made our way into town towards Arnotts, for their special Christmas evening event. At this event, there was live music, gimmicks and free whiskey throughout the night and weren't shy with the whiskey pour.

First on the agenda, was on Thursday Morning, after a quick stroll to the Guinness Storehouse. As we booked an early bird ticket with 20% off admission online, we went straight to the pre paid machine, to collect tickets and start our tour. The tour is self guided and commenced by standing at the bottom of the world's largest pint glass in the Atrium, which rises up through the centre of the seven story building and if full would hold 13.4 millions pints of Guinness. On the fourth floor, we got the opportunity to pour of own pint of in the dedicated Perfect Pint Bar. In the Arthur's Bar on fifth floor got to see views of the brewery, nearly as spectacular as the views from my own bedroom. When we reached the Gravity Bar, we were able to sit back with the pint of Guinness included in price of admission despite the early hour and take in the breath taking panoramic views of Dublin City, in my opinion nearly the best view within Dublin itself. 

After all this Guinness history, we both were stuffed from breakfast so I rang brasserie 66 to reschedule our lunch for the next day when Niamh could join us too, as its a place we enjoy and thought our mother would too. After sitting back a tad longer enjoying the view from the Gravity bar, we continued on with our tour of the storehouses, with the Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield our next stop. On route, I brought her to the St Augustine and John church and Capuchin Order Friary on Church Street near Smithfield. The Friary is located right next the distillery which was quite handy. Our booked tour was at 3pm, and was a guided one which lasted about an hour and included a whiskey comparison with Johnny Walker Scotch, Jack Daniels Bourbon and of course Jameson and what the differences between them are. And most important, the complimentary Jameson drink which made my day being a Jameson whiskey drinker. 

Niamh had a full mini Christmas dinner waiting for us, in honour of our American friends for Thanksgiving. Once we were filled up, we got the bus towards town, for a private event Tommy Hilfiger with music, canapés, drinks and caricaturist, which was busy and fun. +Niamh got a caricature done which came out quite well. During the weekend, we went for the lunch at Brasserie 66 where we managed to get 5€ off thanks to Vouchercloud, followed after with Bewleys for a Christmas drink Candy Cane Latte, CHQ building for Lidl Christmas markets, and a Christmas Market at Catherine Church. 

After an intense day in work and later shopping with the family, we finally put the Christmas tree and decorations up in the Apartment, being supervised by our mother superior, which made the place feel quite Christmasy while listening to Christmas FM. 

                                             

New Beginnings

With the excitement of Italy behind us, we came home to the joys of accommodation hunting which was proving difficult separately and +Niamh starting her new college course in Healthcare Informatics. When we started to look for a place together, although still hard was more promising. We still had time to enjoy ourselves, with a reception at Harvey Nichols and cinema tickets to see Before I Go To Sleep in Dundrum. My weekend off, was a quiet affair, just spent watching Clare U21 hurlers winning 3 in a row All Ireland titles, followed by a day spent at the zoo, as Niamh put it baby hunting, which was more fun than I thought it was gonna be.

 

After a few weeks with no luck, it all came together on Wednesday the 17th, when despite Niamh ringing a particular estate agent that morning with no luck, I chanced my arm ringing after work at 3. I got a call back just before 4, for a viewing 30 mins later, which couldn't have suited us any better. We nearly fell in love with the apartment as soon as we entered it. I couldn't have ran any quicker to the ATM and back with the holding deposit. On Friday lunchtime, after spending the previous two days packing up my life, we signed our lease for our place and got the keys, which was a great relief after a stressful few weeks. As I had time to kill after unpacking, I decided to make most of culture night, and finally go see the Freemasons buildings on Moleworth Street, a building which has eluded me over the years as their open days never suited me until now. Despite getting totally soaked to the bone, once inside, from the onset it didn't disappoint. Over the 3 levels, the history of the Grand Masonic Lodge was everywhere to see and the Freemasons themselves were on hand to answer any questions. I ended up spending longer here, then I had initially planned. On the route home, as Niamh had ordered thai takeaway, I made a slight detour into the city hall exhibition. An exhibition I was not willing previously to pay into, once inside my reservations were correct, as this exhibition is not worth any price of admission. 

Our parents made the journey up that evening for the weekend, which was nice that the whole moving in was quite the family affair. Whilst I was working all day Saturday, which itself was an ordeal with no delivery and the never ending queues. At least the parents and Niamh had a more enjoyable day, spending it at the zoo at the request of our mother, who not been there in 20 years. However it was poor Niamh's second trip in less than a week. After their eventful trip to the zoo, they strolled from the Phoenix Park towards Collins Barracks museum, which neither of our parents had been to before. Just before exiting the park, Niamh attempted to give 2 strangers directions and somehow they ended up inside the new criminal courts. By Saturday night, both Niamh and myself had moved out of our old places and unpacked and moved into our new one.
                            

After a few technical issues with our UPC order, over the weekend, through social media on Monday and early Tuesday morning, I received the horizon box and got everything sorted, now the place really feels like home. On Friday, our mother decided to visit for the weekend again, which was starting to turn into a habit, arriving just after 11.30pm. The following day, we got up and took her by her request on a hop on hop off tour, which I managed to get on Living Social for 7 euro each for all 3 of us. My mother and myself meet Niamh outside the Little Museum on St Stephen Green, who came after college that morning. The ticket to the museum was included as part of the hop on hop off tour one. Our mother really enjoyed the guided tour of this particular museum, we followed this by continuing on the bus tour, followed by the Docklands one, which Niamh and me hadn't done previously and was a pleasant surprise. Disembarking at the Grand Canal, we strolled over to George's Dock, where Oktoberfest was on. The crowds and the atmosphere was electric and the first time I've drank a Stein glass of beer. This was a nice way to finish a week off work and settling into the new place.

 Things were definitely on the way up, as on October 4th, it was time finally to see +Ed Sheeran in the +3Arena Dublin. Im not sure who was more excited myself or Niamh, and this after we both saw him, the May Bank Holiday Monday in +Vicar Street. Ed really knew how to get the crowd going, which made the whole experience electric. Just like the intimate gig at Vicar street, we left the gig singing all the way home. 

Getting used to our surroundings, we noticed the historical structures, churches and buildings nearby on James and Thomas St, such as Guinness' St James' Gate of course, St Patrick's Smock Tower, St Catherine Church site of Robert Emmet execution and John's Lane Church where there a relic of St. Nicholas and the twelve statues in the niches on the tower are the work of James Pearse, father of Padraig Pearse.

Medieval and Renaissance Florence and Pisa

The train journey from Rome to Florence took just over 90 mins, after we embarked from the train, we headed to the tourist info to get a map of the city. We then attempted to find the Uffizi Gallery located near to Palazzo Vecchio, and collected our tickets which we booked online for the gallery. There was a security check point and the required cloakroom. Once inside the gallery we ascended the stairs upto the second floor which the renaissance paintings and sculptures are housed. The gallery houses works such as Boticelli's Birth of Venus, Leonardo di Vinci, Michaelangelo amongst others. At the end of touring the gallery, the view on the terrace gave a glance of the Il Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio nearby.

After collecting our bags, we exited into the Piazza della Signoria where there are the Neptune fountain known as Fontana del Biancone and Equestrian Monument. From near here, we entered the Loggia dei Lanzi, a building on a corner of Piazza della Signoria adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. This building consists of wide arches open to the street and is a sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art. On the entrance  to Palazzo Vecchio is a copy of Michaelangelo's David, the original is housed safely within the Galleria dell'Accademia. Like the Uffizi gallery, bags had to checked into the cloakroom for safety of the art. The ticket we bought was the museum and tower combi, and Liam again managed to get me a student ticket. Straight away entering the museum, you are bombarded with paintings by Leonardo di Vinci's Battle of Angliari and Michaelangelo's Battle of Cascina on the walls of the Salone dei Cinqueccento or Hall of the Five Hundred, works which neither were completed. Before we exited this room, there the statue of Michaelangelo's Genius of Victory and Vasari's  Another particular highlight for us, was Dante Death Mask, located in a small hallway, as all mentioned in Dan Brown's Inferno. From the museum, we climbed the steps of the tower, which showed the nearby Il Duomo perfectly. At this stage of the day, we were both wrecked, so decided to get the train to Pisa, we just missed one, got the next available one, although tad longer than previous one, gave us the opportunity to sit back and relax. We only noticed half way through the journey, we were meant to have validated the ticket before boarding the train, little we could do about it now. Arriving into Pisa, we followed our mate Giulia directions to our hotel, which couldn't be any more precise. Receptionist was very helpful, with directions and helping us with the map the hotel provided. The hotel still has that old family feel within a modern setting. After unpacking, we went for pizza at a place called Dabbe followed by Gelato in Piazza Garibaldi in small place called La Bottega del gelato, both which were divine and suggested by Giulia. To finish the night off, we had a drink on the terrace of our hotel. 

 The following morning, with a well earned sleep in, we went exploring the areas of Pisa.  From our hotel the Royal Victoria, our first port of call was the nearby, Piazza dei Cavalieri, small square with historical buildings which hosted political powers during the renaissance, with the Palazzo della Carovana, the main building with an elaborate facade designed by Giorgio Vasari. From here we countinued our stroll towards the Piazza dei Miracoli or Field of Miracles, UNESCO heritage site containing the Leaning Tower or Torre Pendente. Soon after arriving into the Piazza we purchased our ticket and were given a 4.15 time slot. As we had time to kill, we got the combi ticket for 8 euro to visit the Battistero or Bapistry, Camposanto Monumentale and Museo seller Sinopie. The Camposanto in particular was quite interesting, as it a huge cemetery with ancient Roman sarcophagi, frescoes and sculptures. With both Leaning Tower and combi tickets, gave us free admission into Duomo di Pisa. After our late lunch, it was nearly our timeslot to climb the tower and see the view over Pisa, although we were up and down within 30 to 40 mins, felt like more. Back at the hotel, the owner gave us some suggestions of where else to visit. As we wanted to relax before dinner, we went to visit the Scotto Gardens, a fortress coverted into a public park. We went to a cafe, we noticed on route back from the Leaning Tower, we ended leaving as the service was so bad. As it was getting late, we ended up eating by the Tower, although food and service wasn't the best, at least can say ate by the Leaning Tower. To improve and finish the night properly, we had gelato in Piazza Garibaldi at what was becoming our favourite gelato place. 

Our earliest morning yet, was Tuesday at 6.15 am as we had to make our way to Florence by train, for our jam packed day, beginning at the Academy Gallery at 9.15am to view the Hall of  Michaelangelo's work, of course in particular the statue of David. On leaving the gallery, we made the 5 mins walk to Florence's Cathedral, Il Duomo and were met with a long queue waiting for Brunelleschi's Dome. Niamh quickly joined it, while I hurried off to get the 10€ ticket for access to all the buildings. It took almost over an hour, before we even entered to begin the 464 steps climb to dome, viewing Vasari's Last Judgement beneath the dome closer on route. Once finally at the top of the dome, and on the platform  on the outside, gave views of Florence, which was almost outdone latter in the day by views from the Giotto's Bell Tower, Boboli and Bardini Gardens. After our descend from the top, we rushed towards the Bargello Museum, as the information online said it closed at 18.00 not 12.50. This museum was a last minute addition to our initinery after hearing and reading about it since our arrival into the region. The museum houses other statues of David by Donatello and Verrochio, in the city of Florence there 4 such statues, 2 in this museum, 1 in the Academy Gallery and a replica of Michaelangelo's one outside the Palazzo Vecchio. After our visit here, we joined the que for the Bell Tower, which moved a lot quicker than one for the dome, we queued and reached the top within 45 mins, however it felt like the climb would never end. On reaching the street level again, we went to the Bapistry, admiring the east doors designed by Gilbertini? who Michaelangelo once described them as been fit to be the Gates to Paradise. After a quick visit the cathedral and it's crypt, we walked over the Ponte Vecchio and towards the Pitti  Palace, where we got the ticket for the Boboli and Bardini Gardens which cost 10 euro. It took us about 3 hours to see only about half the Boboli gardens, but we made it to Porta Romana, the Buontalenti Grotto and the secret grey exit door from the Palazzo Vecchio, all of which are mentioned in the book Inferno. The view from both of these gardens are superb and in particular of the Duomo. We managed to make the 19.30 train back to Pisa, although it was a long and tiring day, was worth all the climbing of steps and hills. Once in Pisa, at this stage we were hungry and went to the first restaurant we met, which actually wasn't half bad. To finish the day, we had the required gelato from our favourite place.

To finish off our visit to Pisa and Italy, we enjoyed last few sights such the church of Santa Maria Della Spina and church San Michele , another leaning tower within Pisa. During our trip in this city, we seen all 3 such leaning towers. Before getting the bus to the airport, we sat back and relaxed with our final gelato in Italy before our flight home back Dublin from Galieli International airport. It was only while queueing to board, I thought to check my mobile boarding pass and noticed we had priority queuing, although it had closed, we still were able to skip the long queue which was a relief. 

All Roads Lead to Rome

Once off the train in Roma, and navigated our way through Termini station, we collected our Roma Pass for 2 attractions and use of the public transport for 72 hours. We soon learnt that GPS and maps would become our friend during our stay in Rome. With such help, we got our hotel, Hotel Tirreno, the location was convenient to the Metro and to Termini Station and the room itself was bigger and more luxurious than our one in Sorrento, and only learned when packing up that there had been a mini bar in the room, think maybe lucky we hadn't known. We quickly enough unpacked and commenced our exploration of the eternity city, that is Rome. We strolled back towards the nearby basilica to check it out, to find out that it was one of the items on our initinery, the basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore which is largest church dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary in Rome or our Lady of the snow. From here walked towards to the Pantheon, we arrived to a building which we thought was the Pantheon, but only realised after it was the Vittoriano, the Italian war memorial, located in Piazza Venezia. Around from the war memorial, were the steps up to the Piazza del Campidoglo, located on capital hill, which is a square that was designed by Michelangelo. From this hill,this gave us our first surreal viewpoint of Ancient Rome and in particular an excellent view of the layout of the Imperial Forums. Walking down Via dei Fori Imperiali, towards the Colosseum, enabled us to see the Roman Forum on the right and Trajan's forum and market on the left. By the time we reached the colosseum, it was sunset, which illustrated the monument in a beautiful light. To the right of the colosseum is the Arch of Constanine and the beginning of Palatine hill.

From this area, we walked straight south along Via di Sin Gregorio which brought us to Circus Maximus, which these days has become a peaceful park. We walked through the park but it had become too dark to take pictures, so decided to return to take a selfie another day. At this stage, we became hungry, so headed to find a place to eat, which surprisingly enough was near enough to the Trevi Fountain. When we got the Trevi Fountain, we hadn't known that the fountain is currently under going some cosmetic reconstruction work but the city still provided a place to throw a coin, which took a few attempts to manage. Our first night wandering around Old Rome, helped us get our bearings for the following morning. Seeing some of the main attractions lit up at night was a good start to our visit. Although took us long enough to find our hotel after our excursion out, in the end was possible mainly thanks to google maps, which wouldn't  be the last time, it would come to our rescue. 

After making use of the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we strolled towards the colosseum.  We were able to bypass the queues, thanks to the Roma Pass as there was a separate line for pass holders. Once inside, Rick Steves' guided and navigated us through the attraction, as he would with the majority of the attractions within Rome and the Vatican. From the 2nd level, we were able to look out from the colosseum onto the rest of the surrounding areas in particular Arch of Constanine and the nearby Imperial Forums and Palatine hill, which was our next port of call, as it was included in the same attraction price as the colosseum. After our mandatory selfie within the colosseum, we exited from here after our 90 min visit and strolled the short distance to the Forums Via Sacra. Again Rick Steves' helped us through the Forums before we went unguided walking about the Palatine Hill. Particular highlights of these two attractions were the Arch of Titus, Arch of Severus and the view from Palatine Hill overlooking Circus Maximus. We exited the Forums at the north west corner, next to the flight of steps leading to Piazza del Campidoglo, which is also the location of the the Mamertine Prison also known as Tullianum. This prison is famous for having been the location where St. Peter was imprsioned before his martyrdom. This 5 euro guided tour, provided info on the history of the prison, the roman walls, chapel of the crucifix and the location itself of the Tullianum or maximum security prison of Ancient Rome. After this tour, the war memorial/ Vittoriano was opened, we went in out of curiosity, which gave us an overview of the surrounding areas, and how close we were to the pantheon the previous night. On route to the pantheon, with a pit stop  first at Largo di Torre Argentina which is a square that hosts 4 Republican Roman temples and remains of Pompey's theatre Curia, the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated. 

About ten mins walk further, we finally managed to find the Pantheon. The pantheon is famed for its large dome which is the largest masonry dome in the world, is still a functioning church and hosts the final resting place of Raphael's tomb. Once exiting the pantheon, we walked 5 mins towards Piazza Navona, which in it's centre lies Bernini's Fountain of the Rivers. Bernini's sculptures and fountains would become a running theme throughout our stay. Soon after seeing this Bernini fountain, I remembered the use of Bernini in Dan Brown's Angels and Demon and decided that we must them see all. At the other end of Piazza we exited and strolled towards Piazza del Popolo in the North Center of Rome, which at its centre is an Egyptian obselisk that originally was in Circus Maximus. As our feet were beginning to hurt, we sat down in the Piazza to gather our composure before continuing on. Liam mounted the stone lion near the obelisk, was funny watching him try to climb back down. After seeing all these obelisks, we hopped onto the metro to San Giovanni, where the tallest obelisk in world is located outside the Lateran basilica. We finally crawled back to our hotel, for a siesta before heading back out later that night. Trying to tick items off our to do list, we got the metro to to the Spanish steps, where we climbed and descended the 135 steep sloped steps, after doing this, gave us quite the appetite however it was late, trying to find food was proving difficult. Luckily enough for us, the Irish bar Trinity College was still serving food and it was surpringly nice too. On the way to get the metro at Barberini station, we noticed the magnificent Bernini fountain, one of his not to be missed in Rome. 

 Early rise the next morning, quick breakfast and metro to Ottaviano, the stop closest to the Vatican. Once inside St. Peter's square, soon discovered we were a tad too early, so explored the square itself, which has free access before we passed the police checkpoint, followed by the Swiss guards. This tour only can be booked in advance and holds ten people at a time. The Scavi tour under St. Peter's Basilica included visiting the Necropolis and culminating at the site of St. Peter's tomb. On exiting his tomb, we were brought outside the Irish chapel under the Basilica. In the Papal grotto, we saw St. Peter's tomb from a different angle, 3rd so far that morning and the final angle in the Basilica itself. Luckily enough on leaving the tour and Papal grotto, we were able to enter the basilica without having to queue, which at times can take 3 to 4 hours. Particular highlights of the Basilica were the art work, structures, Pieta Chapel and the dome. On seeing the dome from a distance, we decided to pay the 5 euro and climb the 551 steps to the top of the dome, stopping off on the way for a closer view of the inside of the dome. Then climbed the remaining 320 steps to the top of dome, which gave us the opportunity to step out onto a platform and view the Vatican from a height. Liam didn't realise we had more steps to climb after the first set which was funny. On descending the 320 steps part first, we stopped for well earned pit stop and call our dad from the top of Basilica, before finishing the descend down which brought us back inside the Basilica. After our day one visiting to the Vatican was complete, we strolled towards Castel Sant'Angelo, famed for being the Mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian and fortess for popes. Here we used our Roma Pass to gain access as our 2nd attraction. On our journey back towards the main part of Rome, we passed over the Bridge of Angels and the noticed a sign for relics of Padre Pio, by the time we found the church it was closed and we were determined to visit it the next day. To finish off the day we revisited Piazza Navona, Pantheon and finished at Trevi fountain joining the que with gelato in hand, to walk across the boardwalk over the fountain giving us a closer look at the statues and of course a selfie. 

Slightly earlier start, but reached the Vatican with time to spare, to make a quick detour to the obselisk in St. Peter's square, for a photo at the air element mentioned in Angels and Demons. As we had a prearranged guided tour of the Necropolis via Triumphalis, before visiting the Vatican museums, which was self guided, we were able to skip the queue of people waiting for museum to open to purchases tickets. The guided tour was better than we expected and finished at the entrance to the museums which was ideal. The amount of paintings, sculptures and artefacts on display was unreal, even before we reached the Raphael rooms, finally accumulating in the masterpiece that is the Sistine Chapel which has to be seen with your own eyes to believe the beauty of Michaelangelo's work. Although neither of wanted to leave, there was places and things we wanted to see. A quick trip on the metro to Piazza del Popolo, to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in particular Chigi chapel as it was designed by Raphael and finished by Bernini and the earth element used in Dan Brown's book. To finish off our tour of locations mentioned in the book, we went to the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which we had to wait to be opened. The Ecstacy of Saint Theresa by Bernini in the Cornora chapel is used to illustrate the element of fire in the book. Our attempt to find the metro got us somehow atop the Quirinal, highest of the famous Roman hills and next to the Quirinal palace. Walking down Via dei Fori Imperiali, past the Colosseum, got us to Circus Maximus for a daylight selfie and attempt to find this gelato place recommended on TripAdvisor, il gelato di Claudo Torce, which seemed forever to find but was worth the wait. At the other end of Circus Maximus, Santa Maria in Cosmedin is located, best known for the Bocca Della Verita or mouth of truth in its porch. Although when were arrived it was closed 2 hours earlier than mentioned online, was just about able to get a picture of the sculpture. As we still had time, we hopped onto a bus to the church of San Salvatore in Lauro, when we got there, they were in middle of mass but in the end managed to get to see the Padre Pio relics. On our route for food, it started raining buckets, we ran to get shelter at the Pantheon but were already soaked. A drink was well earned after that, and ended up in the Irish bar, Scholars Lounge to recover before food, followed by the stroll back to the hotel. 

After breakfast and check out, we made our way to the Termini Station, to catch the train to Florence.