Rome, Italy

Rome, Italy

Day 1

In total this was a really long day. The night before we left for Italy I could hardly sleep in anticipation. When I did manage to fall asleep, I was immediately awoken by probably the loudest thunderstorm I have ever heard. It seriously sounded like the buildings around me were exploding. 

We all met at the airport and we were off to the Eternal City. When we first arrived it was made clear that it was up to me to find the hotel we were staying in. I didn't care; I knew exactly where we were in this foreign city!

To get to our hotel we had to take the train around to the opposite side of the city. When we first walked out of the train station into the city we were in absolute awe. After walking down only two blocks we had arrived at our hotel.

This particular hotel was actually a small business owned by an old sweet Italian couple. The older gentleman showed us the place, which was absolutely amazing. We paid maybe 5 euros more a night, and we landed an amazing place!

He was also very helpful showing us everything on the map. We didn’t waste much time before we hit the streets to salvage the remainder of the night. The first thing we needed was food, and we were all in the mood for some zah (pizza slang for cool people like me).

After dinner we made our way to the Spanish steps. The steps and the fountain were very old, however I'm not sure what was supposed to be impressive about it. Nonetheless we went to the church on the top, and it was very nice. We sat down and listened to some great church singing before going out and admiring the view.

After that we headed to the Piazza Colonna. The light was weird so I wasn't able to get a solid picture, but here you go anyway.

After that we headed to a famous fountain. I couldn't remember which one it was, only that it was there. When we found it I was very impressed. It was called the Fontana di Trevi. We did the whole coin thing too, because it's important to be a tourist.

We still weren't done, so we decided to head to the Pantheon. We picked a random street to head down, and right around the corner we saw it. This moment is probably the most epic moment of my whole trip. Here was this building I had seen for so long, and as we came around the corner there was a lovely street performer singing Italian opera. The whole thing was magical.

After admiring the Pantheon for a while we decided to see one last square we had seen before. I’m not sure what it was, but just down the street was the Coliseum. We decided not to walk down as I had booked a tour for us the next day. It was still pretty epic to see it though.

At this point we were very tired, so we found a pub with overpriced beer to chill out at. We decided to call it a night and go back to our gnarly hotel.

Day 2

Waking up early, my friend and I bought some breakfast food to make at the hotel. It’s been too long since I've had bacon and eggs! It was a very relaxing morning because we were in no rush. Our Coliseum tour was booked at noon.

We decided to take the metro down instead of walking, and when we exited the Coliseum was right there in front of us! The line up was enormous, but I had booked tickets online, so we passed right by. The tour was pretty cool with lots of insightful information. We were allowed to go up to the top level and I was able to get some great photos.

Afterwards we took a quick stop at the forum, which wasn't really that impressive, so we went back to the Pantheon.

Going inside the Pantheon was also amazing. I had previously watched Angels&Demons before I left. That's how I get amped before I see monuments.

 We ate at a little restaurant right beside the Pantheon, and I think it was there that I decided that Italy was better than France.

It was a pretty busy day but we had time left so we decided to see the Castel St. Angelo.

Unfortunately they close most things here on Monday, so we could only see the outside.

Walking back we decided to go down to the waterfront, which turns out is the most sketch place in Rome. I'm not kidding, just take a look at the picture.

You don't want to know what else we found on the ground.

Day 3

Day 3, as I predicted, was spent almost entirely at the Vatican. I had booked us tickets for the museum, so again we were able to skip the enormous line up. We were in the Vatican museum, which is very big, but there is only one part that you really go to see, the Sistine Chapel. Walking through the halls was also very cool, but my friends weren't really interested. The line to go through was so long, but finally we made it in.

I really didn't know much about the art in the Sistine Chapel other than the ceiling, but if there is one word that I would choose to describe it with, epic. The ceiling piece was amazing, but The Last Judgment on the wall was the most impressive I thought. They were very strict about taking photos, so I can only give you this pathetic picture.

Yeah I know it’s not any good, but I did my best. What you don't like it? Then you go and wait in line for an hour to see it yourself!

Next we went over to the other side to see St. Peter’s Basilica. There was a very long line, but it moved very quickly. Once we walked inside I think my jaw dropped. Of all the cathedrals that I have seen so far, St. Peter’s is definitely the most amazing. I can't believe people could even build structures like that hundreds of years ago.

 I looked over to the right, and there was the Pietà!

There was also the Statue of St. Peter, which has had its foot rubbed so many times that half of it is gone, and yes I rubbed it to.

The basement of St. Peter’s had the crypt, where many of the previous Pope’s now lie. It's also where St. Peter is buried.

After that we decided to buy tickets to walk up to the top of the dome. The top is the highest point in the city, and the view was unbelievable.

 When we looked down at the garden, we noticed there was a band there. Everyone was dressed in black, except for one old guy dressed in white. An Italian guy started yelling “papa!” Yep, it was the Pope, or really a Pope. It was Benedict, the one who stepped down from his position. Here are some zoomed in photos.

 We were very tired at that point, so it was back to our hotel for beers and food. Not before I took a picture of the greatest security force the world has ever seen though!

Day 4

Our friend Juan found out that on Wednesdays there is a huge ceremony at the Vatican, and he got all of us tickets. The ceremony officially started at 10:30 am, so naturally we had to get up at 5:30 am to get a good spot in line. I was really excited to see another Pope. I didn't grow up Catholic, but one must recognize that the Pope is one of the most important people in the world.

When we reached the Vatican the line was already pretty big. Apparently people actually pilgrimage to come and see him. It was when the line started moving that things became chaotic.  I would have thought that things would be nice and orderly at the Vatican, but when you get past the entrance it becomes a fight to the death for the best seat.

 I immediately lost my friends, but found them about ten minutes later. We had to play the waiting game from there.

The square slowly filled up, and I later found out there was probably around 150, 000 people there!

During some announcements the giant TV screen switched on and the Pope was making his way through the crowd in his awesome car. Going around the entire square, the Pope shook people hands and kissed babies, yes he actually kissed babies. It took around 20 minutes, but he finally came to our side, and I was able to get these quick pictures.

He made his way to his chair and began to speak. Unfortunately, he was speaking in Italian, and that combined with the early start made me very bored and tired. I soon fell asleep, but woke up in time for the finishing words, which I still didn't understand. I guess you can't learn Italian in your sleep.

When we arrived back at our hotel we were all exhausted. After a few naps and interneting it up we decided to go out for ice cream and our last supper in Rome.

This was an absolutely amazing trip in Rome, one which I will never forget… because I have this blog.