Life of Jana

Our last day in Rome was spent shopping, doing the last of our sightseeing and enjoying Italian food. We began at Via del Corso, which is a major shopping street in Rome with stores like Zara, H&M, Gap, Sephora, Kiko and Accessorize. We spent a few hours there and I managed to pick up some nice clothes and a few makeup products from Kiko. We really wanted to check out the Pantheon before our holiday was over. It is massive from the outside. It's a beautiful strong historical building but from the inside it wasn't as impressive to me. It was busy, crowded and quite noisy although overall I did enjoy it.  A horse outside the Pantheon Piazza Navona was the highlight of the day for me. It's a lovely square with two beautiful fountains and an Egyptian obelisk in the middle. I've seen the piazza before in Dan Brown's 2009 thriller Angels and Demons, so it was nice to recognise the place. It was 30 degrees that day and my mint and v...

Our third day in Rome was booked at the Vatican . Vatican City is the smallest city state but it can easily be explored for several days. Tristan pre-booked the tickets for us just a week before our trip ( €16 each), it included visiting the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.   We started our day at the museum to see a bit of art and history. The Vatican Museum has a big collection of paintings, sculptures, archaeological excavations, mummies, portraits of the Pope and so much more. The highlight of the museum for me was The Gallery of Maps , which is a 120 metre long gallery containing a series of painted topographical maps on the walls and a painted vaulted ceiling. They don't allow photos to be taken in The Sistine Chapel , so I've not got any photographical evidence I can show you guys but it was definitely an amazing experience. I saw the magnificent work created by Michelangelo and got to tick off something else on my bucket list.   Adam and Eve ...

We planned for Monday to be our main sightseeing day. The morning was started with breakfast at our hotel before we left at 10am. A bus to the city centre took us just 10 minutes - €1.20 for one way ticket. Our first stop was at Piazza Venezia, a major circus and known as the central hub of Rome. The majority of Rome's popular tourist attractions are easily accessible from here and are within walking distance. The Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) caught my eye and we decided to see it up close. This monument was built in 1925 in honour of King Victor Emmanuel, making it quite a new attraction compared to the rest of the Rome and its architecture.   From the top of the building you can see a 360 degree view of Rome. A ticket to the top costs €7 but you can stay on the roof as long as you like!    Our next stop was Santa Maria in Aracoeli , another beautiful Catholic church with a monumental staircase. While you can s...