London/Rome Vacation - Part 1 - Itinerary

I really apologise that this post has taken awhile to write. I find that the jet-lag is taking a while to get over. Anyways, here is an itinerary of our trip. My favourite places are marked with a red *

Thur May 15
Fly to London

Friday May 16
Greenwich day trip

• Royal Observatory - For those of you who don't know, the Prime Meridian, which Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is measured from, actually goes through London. I, like so many others, had one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere
• Queen's House
• National Maritime Museum *

O2 - Apparently, this is Europe's largest entertainment centre. We wanted to see this place because we've seen it several times on TV shows and we heard so much about it. The place is huge!

Sat May 17
Leeds Castle* - Kent County - Really cool castle

Sunday May 18
Bath day trip

• Jane Austen Centre
• Pultney Bridge
• Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms * - the museum was cool, but what was really neat was to see the Upper Assembly Rooms as described in Jane Austen's novels
• Royal Crescent and the Circus - more interesting architecturally than anything else
• Number 1, Royal Crescent
• Building of Bath Museum - a mildly interesting museum that describes the architectural development of Bath as a city.

Monday May 19
- Stratford-Upon-Avon day trip - Where Shakespeare was born, lived and buried (if you are going to visit, I suggest you start at Shakespeare's grave and work your way back to Shakespeare's birthplace). Stratford-Upon-Avon is also a pretty town to hang out

• Shakespeare's Birthplace
• Nash House & New Place
• Halls Croft
• Shakespeare's Grave @ Holy Trinity Church *

- Warwick Castle * - another really cool castle
- Jack the Ripper London Walk * - I've always wanted to go on this walk. It's also a nice way to learn more about London's social history in during the Victorian era, and presented in a way that you wouldn't normally see in a museum or in a history book.

Tuesday May 20
Fly to Rome - Stansted Airport was very nice. RyanAir is really no frills, but you can't beat the price

Wednesday May 21 (also know as the 24 hours of hell)

• Roman Forum (Foro Romano) *
• Palatine Hill (Monte Palatino) * - This place is massive, but very interesting
• Colosseum (Colosseo)
• Arch of Constantine
• Trajan's Column, Market & Forum - (Colonna, Foro, e Mercati de Traiano)
• Mamertine Prison - Where St. Paul and St Peter were imprisoned for a time
• Capitoline Hill Square (Campidoglio)
• St. Peter In Chains (San Pietro in Vincoli) - Displays the chains that held St. Peter

Thursday May 22

• Trevi Fountain
• Pantheon
• Castel Sant'Angelo
• St. Peter's Basilica* (Basilica San Pietro), Dome (Cupola), and Pope's tombs - yes, we climbed up the dome, and we saw dead popes

Friday May 23

• National Museum of Rome * (Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo alle Terme)
• Baths of Diocletian (Terme di Diocleziano) - No longer Roman Baths, it was converted into a church sometime during it's history
• Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna)
  
• Alter of Peace (Ara Pacis)
• Capitoline Museum * (Musei Capitolini) - great view of the Roman Forums as well as lots of interesting artifacts

Saturday May 24
Via Appia Antica tour - good stretch of road for biking

• Tomb of Cecilia Metella (Mausoleo di Cecilia Metalla)
• Circus & Villa of Maxentius (Circo e Villa di Massenzio)
• Catacombs of San Callisto *
• Domine Quo Vadis Church

- Galleria Doria Pamphilj * - lots of interesting artwork collected by the Doria Pamphilj family. The house is really nice too

Sunday May 25
Ostia Antica * - Ruins of what used to be a major port city near Rome. Our guidebook said the tour would take about 2 hours, we were there for 5 hours, the place is massive. We only left because we were getting really hot and sunburnt.

Monday May 26

• Vatican Museum * - my favourite part was actually watching someone do restoration work
  
• Sistine Chapel *

Tuesday May 27
- Fly back to London
- Wallace Collection * - Lots of cool armour and weaponry
- Watched Indiana Jones movie at the O2

Wednesday May 28

• Museum in Docklands* - This is a cool place because it shows yet a different perspective of London's history. They also had a Jack the Ripper exhibit. I found it interesting that the opinions of the murders varied somewhat between the exhibit and the London Walk, but still a fascinating look at life in the East End during the Victorian era. The Docklands area is super nice, lots of modern office buildings and flats.
  
• Apsley House - the First Duke of Wellington lived here
• London Ghost Walk

Thursday May 29
Fly back to Vancouver!

Pictures and other comments forthcoming! Dave took over 600 pictures, so it may be a while before you see them.