Welcome to Our Vacation Trip to Italy April 2007

• "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

  Italy is a beautiful country. A place of olive oil, pasta, wine, mafia and sunshine, roman ruins and renaissance palaces, Italy has a lot to give its tourists.

  Italy is a country full of interesting things for the casual tourist and the educated tourist, it has deep Roman Catholic roots. The Vatican is a small country by itself in Italy.

  That is why my wife and I decided to visit Italy for the first time. We arrived in Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci airport after an exhausting journey of 12 hours on Singapore Airlines. Immigration officers were pleasant and friendly.They do not talk much and stamped your passport after a check with their computers. Then there was the retrieval of our luggage.

  We boarded a tour bus going to the main central district of Rome. Along the way were many Olive and Grape farms. In Rome most of the streets were narrow and cobbled , a remnant of the original passage ways for horses and carriages in Ancient Rome. There are many fountains and statues as well as remains of ancient Roman houses and architecture.

  First stop was the Coliseum, one of the last wonders of the world. It is the world largest arena of the ancient world well known for their so called sporting activities like gladiators fighting and killing of persecuted Christians. It is really impressive from the outside. However to get inside the Coliseum, the Romans has become wise to the tourist dollar and are charging entrance fees. Inside the Coliseum, the view from the top is spectacular and you can get a very good view of what's happening in the arena as well as outside the arena. There are dungeon rooms where the gladiators probably rest before and after a fight. You would definitely rate it as one of the wonders of the ancient world.

• Next to the Coliseum, we found the the ruins of the Roman Forum the seat of ancient public life where Julius Caesar was reportedly killed by Brutus and Cassius. The roads were all cobbled as in ancient times. If you are not careful you can sprain your ankle easily.