Even though our feet were sore from walking all day, and our new dorm mates were loud as heck when they get ready for bed while the rest of us slept, we slept pretty well and got up with the break of dawn. Jess, Risha and myself were out the door and headed for the Vatican by 8 and were in line by 8:30. The line to get into the museum was incredibly long. We waited for an hour and a half to get in and paid €8 with our student discount to enter the Vatican Museum. Believe it or not, the line behind us extended a solid half a mile at least, so our spots were relatively good.
It's a tapestry of the famous fresco The Last Supper
The figures look like the are 3D right? But they aren't. They are painted on.
We walked through a few galleries and saw some amazing artwork before we made out way towards the Sistine Chapel. To get to the Sistine Chapel you have to pass through even more galleries, and we passed tens of tour groups that seemed to hold up all the free floaters. The place was congested beyond belief. I took in everything as best as I could, but honestly it was a little overwhelming. There was so much beauty and talent in the artwork it would be hard not to be overwhelmed. When we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel I felt like I was in a dream. There was just no way that I was actually seeing this incredibly famous piece of art with my own eyes. I would say that we marveled for a solid 10-15 minutes before taking out leave. Sadly, pictures are not allowed so I have none of my own to share.
Now everyone should pay attention. There are two exits. One takes you back to the museum and the other leads to St. Peters. I didn’t notice the first so we headed to St. Peter’s unknowingly. Once we reached the courtyard there is two lines to chose. One was towards the Cupola (the top of St. Peter’s) and the other was towards the Pope’s tombs. The tomb line was shorter so we took that one, but once we got in we realized that the only way out was St. Peter’s and there was no way to get back in if we wanted to go to the Cupola. So moral of the story is queue for the Cupola if you have the time.
We gave Risha some time to explore St. Peter’s and then we all headed out to find some food. Just two blocks from the Vatican we found a mom and pop Pizzeria, literally. An older boisterous woman and her quite husband run the pizzeria. We were looking at the outside menu when she stormed out and practically yelled at us in Italian to sit down “Prego!” I felt like she was my Italian grandma. I ordered pizza and it was fantastic. The one thing I learned is that Rome is not a credit card place. It was the second place of the day that didn’t accept credit cards. So if you want to go, make sure you have ample amounts of cash.
After lunch we headed towards St. Angelo’s Castle where we parted ways with Risha. She went in to explore but we decide to walk the grounds quick and take to the Tiber River. No one was on the river even though it was a beautiful day and there was a great waking path. As we learned, the river is a little sketch. I’m a pretty sure only tourist and people looking for privacy go to the river. There was one point while we went under a bridge that my spidey sense went off. I could feel a person on the other side, so as we passed I decided to have a look and you’ll never guess what I saw. Holy biscuits Batman! There was a man there but he was enjoying his own company, if you know what I mean. Being the sheltered girl that I am, I was stunned into silence, but we just kept walking.
Our river journey ended on a good note at the Isola (Island) where got gelato for the last time and enjoyed the river. From there was walked back to the Monumento a Vittoria Emenuele where the police squad had gathered for reasons unknown to us. We decided to take a seat in the nearby foro and watch the events unfold. It turns out that there was some sort of water march that stretched probably 2 miles long. The police were just there to make sure the monument didn’t get touched and keep the peace. It was a peaceful march from what we saw, but from there we had to leave to go back to the hostel, gather our things and head to the airport. Our time in Rome had come to an end. Two days is clearly not enough time in the great city. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it can’t be seen in a day. I wish we had more time, but such is life. We saw, probably 90% of the most famous places, and all in all I would call it a resounding success.
Our last gelato
The island
Polizia!
The Water Walk
Alex, our hostel owner, really liked me.
The train back to the airport was crazy busy and we barely made it with less than a minute to spare. The guy who sat across from us had the most pained look on his face the whole time. He wasn’t in pain, that’s just how his face was, and it was quite comical for me.
Once at the airport we went through security, where I was searched, AGAIN. Then as we boarded the EasyJet flight I was chosen AGAIN for the random bag and body search. Do I really look like a terrorist? Is it the blonde hair? I want to know why I am always the one to be searched. Warning to the wise: don’t travel with me if you want to get somewhere quick, because I (with the help of brilliant security) will hold you up. It’s really remarkable. Not too mention that the bag lady seemed very puzzled by my deodorant stick. It keeps me smelling fresh lady!
Minus the minor security headache our journey home was pleasant. I enjoyed a pear cider on the plane, Mac n Cheese at Vandon, and then crashed into an amazing and dreamful sleep.
O Rome, I will miss you. Pip Pip Cheerio!
Glad you had fun. Doesn't sound like a city that would hold my interest for long. Not a big fan of being a 'tourist' and standing in long lines. I think the restaurant actually sounded the most fun as you were 'with' the people, though I'm sure many tourists go there to eat.
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