Roman Guards

[Kaylesh]

Took this last month while on a cruise holiday. One of the stops was Rome.. Wish we had a whole week or two there. So much to see. This is just one of many pics that i took. Did some cropping,noise reduction and a wee bit of saturation of colour. ANY Critiques appreciated.
Thanks
Kaylesh

[Rob612]

I must note that those are not Roman (i.e. Italian) guards but Vatican Guards. Completely different story, even because they are all Swiss citizens. BTW, the uniform was originally designed by Michelangelo.

[Kaylesh]

I must note that those are not Roman (i.e. Italian) guards but Vatican Guards. Completely different story, even because they are all Swiss citizens. BTW, the uniform was originally designed by Michelangelo.
Aye sorry Rob you are 100 % correct as you would be being in Rome yourself :-).. They are Vatican Guards.. Big mistake by a not very seasoned traveler.. I will edit the title of the thread ..
Thanks for correcting me.. I had no idea the uniform was orignally designed by Michelangelo . i was thouroughly awed while there.
Kaylesh

[Rob612]

Well... for me, living here and working VERY close to the Vatican City, was easy :D BTW, do you know that they have Glocks "under" that dress ? :D :D

[Kaylesh]

nope had NO clue.. Was absolutley jammed packed with lots of other tourists while we visited the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica. Would have been a much more enjoyable experience had we been able to breath while in the Chapel .. ;-)

[Rob612]

Sorry to hear that, but its somehow normal in this season (actually, the Sistine Chapel is a nightmare all year round, but in summer it does gets worst). You got to accept it or just skip the visit. I only had ONE TIME (in 44 years I live here) to take a private tour of the Chapel and that was an experience. As far as the fact that you had no clue about the Glocks they are carrying well... its something that they don't really want people to notice, and they do an excellent job in hiding the thing. But still I won't argue with those guys :D

[Kaylesh]

Wow that must of been a really neat experience.. a private tour of the Chapel.. I know i sure wish i had lots more time there.. I can only imagine it gets even worse in June.July and August..
I know tourist season here gets realy bad in July and August..

[Rob612]

Yes, it was an incredible experience because the guide was one of the more important Vatican historians and he spent a lot of time explaining things. But that was an occasione where I have been just sneaked in by a friend, I know it would never happen again :(

June, July and August here are a real nightmare, at least downtown. More or less, as everywhere else in the world of the artistic cities.