inside the cathedral 

Italy- Rome

First stop, the eternal city of Italy-ROME.

The entire tour group of about 31 people met up and we were loaded onto the bus ready to learn about the rich history of Rome. We went to visit St Peter's Basilica, the LARGEST Cathedral in the world and ironically it is located in the smallest independent state- Vatican City. Vatican City is just a small part of Rome consisting of the Cathedral and a few other tall buildings so it’s pretty small probably the size of Changi Airport.

Then there it was, the magnificent St Peter’s Basilica, home to all the Popes since it was built. If you are wondering why it was named St Peter, it’s because the first Pope, Peter was being buried under the church and since then all Popes has been buried under the Cathedral. Within the Cathedral are sculptures of all kinds and one in particular was sculptured by Michelangelo when he was just 18! It was a sculpture of Virgin Mary with baby Jesus in her arms.

Next was the Romans’ circus, the Colosseum. Before they became the Holy Roman Empire during King Constantine reign, the Kings regarded themselves as God and anyone claiming to have other Gods will be thrown into the Colosseum and have to battle either a Roman gladiator or a beast. The Romans think that if your so called God is true, you will win the battle.

After all these sight-seeing was SHOPPING around the Spanish Steps. There was LV, Prada, Armani and all the other famous brands but sadly I didn’t buy anythingL.

That was the day’s events.

Some little facts about the Rome

Rome was started by 2 kids and a She-wolf who raised them up.
During Julius Caesar’s time, they have conquered as far as Africa and they did this with 2 battle strategies.

1.When the battle is about to begin, they will provoke the enemy, stir up anger in the enemy against them so that they will be the ones who will charge towards them and strike the first blow. Making the enemy feels threatened; their first blow will naturally be the most powerful and energy draining. Therefore, the Romans will form a “fish scale” defense. (The front soldiers will overlap each other’s shield to form a much bigger shield which looks like a fish scale) Right after the enemy has struck the first blow, the Romans will start to attack. (I think I saw this in Troy)


2.“when there is water, there is civilization”
The Romans treasure water, they know the goodness of it therefore they bath regularly and drink lots of water which prevents sickness and ill health.

Introduction

Hi there people! This is my first time having a blog and it is going to be a travel blog so don't expect any further updates. Anyway this blog is dedicated to my tour to Central Europe. I spent a total of 18 days there of which 15 days was with Chan Brothers travel and the following 3 days was an extension in London. These are the places I went to in chronological order: Italy- Austria- Switzerland- Germany- Netherlands- Belgium- France- London

Sandra