Rome, Italy and Vatican City

May 19th, 2008

As we arrived in Rome we immediately started with a walking tour of the city provided by Lauren. We had to be careful however as it is illegal for non-certified Roman guides to give tours in the city. I guess there are degree programs and everything to become a guide and they take it very seriously. Our first stop was at the Trevi Fountain where we had a few minutes to take photos and do the obligatory 3 coins in the fountain. 1 to return to Rome, 2 to fall in love with an Italian, 3 to marry the Italian in Rome. I threw 3, obviously. After taking the pictures I grabbed another gelato for 3.50 euro with pineapple, kiwi, raspberry, blackberry and melone and sampled someone else's coconut with coconut bits on the inside. Great as always. Afterwards we walked over to the Trevi Fountain for a few minutes to climb the stairs and get pictures and ended the evening at the Piazza Navona where we had a walk about dinner. A lot of places in the direction the tour manager recommended came out and went "HEY CONTIKI! NO SERVICE NO COVER" which we thought was really odd and went on. Apparently they were actually just being very nice and take good care of the contiki people. We wandered up a ways more and found a nice quite restaurant and people ordered pasta, while I got another pizza. This time I ordered the Navona Notte (named for the restaurant) which was mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil and was awesome for 10 euro + tip (with water). Afterwards we met up at the Piazza Navona and hung out until we went back to the campsite. The best part about the Piazza Navona that night was that there was a 3 piece band playing Stairway to Heaven and was amazingly cool.

The Rome campsite is very tiny cabins in twin share with barely enough room for your bags to still have floor space. The site has communal toilets and showers which definitely require shower sandals if you have them (I would not go barefoot). Other than that the site is fairly nice with a local German Shepherd which is the largest and nicest dog ever (although always looked kinda sad). The nice thing about the Rome campsite is that there is a very nice old lady who does your laundry for you for 2 euro/kg and I had 4kg of washing done which was returned the following evening folded and all. Quite awesome to have real laundered clothes for once.

I called it an early night since the rain was still coming down and to be rested for one of the craziest days of the trip.

May 20th, 2008

We woke up at 6:45 for a 7:15 breakfast of the usual food and left by 7:45 to head into Rome. Since the driver had another day off we got a free metro day pass to head back to the campsite for the day whenever we wanted. Most people on the tour signed up for the Roman Forum walking tour which I hear was mediocre at best. The benefit of this tour is that, at least for us, it was first thing in the morning and it included admission to the Colosseum and forum. Being one of the only people who went on their own, I was by myself the whole day (welcomed at this point).

I headed to Vatican City and made it in line at 8:45 (15 minutes after opening). After waiting 20 minutes I was inside the door to the museum and paid the 14 euro entrance fee, and 10 minutes later was walking around the museum for about an hour and a half. The Vatican Museums are awesome, ornate, elaborate, and expensive. You could easily spend a week in this building. I was originally going to do a walking tour but it was canceled. After seeing all the tour groups being rushed around random rooms, I was glad I couldn't. I got to wander around the gigantic halls and appreciate what I wanted to and skip what I didn't. After the hour and a half I wandered into the Sistine Chapel which was much smaller than everyone thinks. I snuck the video of the ceiling like everyone else does (as pictures would just come out blurry) without getting caught. It is worth seeing, even if it is kinda small compared to the rest of the halls in the Vatican Museums.

After I left the Vatican Museums I headed over to St Peters Basilica. Apparently there is a group entrance line in the Sistine Chapel that if you are lucky you can blend in with a tour group and get in. I did not notice this (even though I was looking) and went onward. I am glad I did as there was more exhibits and the famous spiral staircase after the Sistine Chapel that you'd miss. I purchased a rosary for 10 euro and headed over to the Basilica.

Since I didn't take the group entrance I had to wait in line again. Like St Marks in Venice it went by very quickly. The line wrapped all the way around the square but only took 20 minutes. I immediately spent the 5 euro to climb to the top of the dome (the entrance is on the outside of the basilica on the right). I found out a few people later walked right into the crypt without paying when the guard was not there. Weird. After climbing over 500 steps I made it to the top for the most breathtaking views of Rome that you can ask for. I definitely recommend this although the climb is not for the claustrophobic. After taking in the views for 10 minutes I headed down into the basilica, which is the largest domed church in the world, and it is massive! I purchased a shot glass for 3.50 euro from the gift shop (yes the Vatican sells shot glasses if you can find them) and headed back into Rome.

After wandering around Rome for a bit I went into a gift shop and bought a hoodie for 20 euro, magnet for 3 euro, and shot glass for 3.50 euro and used the metro to get to the Colosseum. As soon as you exit the metro the Colosseum is right in your face. I walked up to the Roman Forum as it is easier to get in there than right at the Colosseum. As soon as I purchased my ticket (11 euro) it started raining horribly. I decided I didn't want to let it get me down so I wandered around the Forum anyway, which is absolutely breath taking, and even cooler as it was completely empty since everyone was finding cover - great for pictures. After hitting up the forum I walked right into the Colosseum w/o waiting using the ticket and did the usual pictures and appreciation that everyone does. It is not as large as people make it out to be, and they would definitely not be able to fill it for sea battles, but it is amazing either way.

After the rain died down (conveniently right when I left) I headed to a random restaurant by the hard rock cafe (purchased another pin for 8.80 euro) and had another pizza with ham and anchovies (bad choice) plus a water for 12 euro plus tip. After that I wandered down and purchased a bottle of wine for 3.50 euro and grabbed a gelato at a nice establishment for 4 euro (Nutella, Crem Caramel, and Kinder Cereali (no idea)). At this time I ran into a few people from the group who were eating lunch and joined up with them.

One of the more macabre places in Rome is the Capuchin Monk Church which is free to get into and contains the bones of over 400 monks from over the years. Much like the Catacombs in Paris (but much smaller) it is very eerie and definitely cool. I gave a 0.90 donation and we headed back to the campsite for dinner.

The dinner at the campsite was pretty good. It included penne pasta, salad, potatoes, and chicken which was quite welcome after a rainy day. Everyone hit the bar that evening and I drank my bottle of wine and called it a night as it was a crazy long day with horrible weather.

May 21th, 2008

We woke up at 6:45 for a 7:15 breakfast and left by 8 with really bad traffic to head to Florence. The sun FINALLY came out and we drove until 11:30 and had a 15 minute break to buy snacks. We arrived in Florence by noon for our one evening in the glorious city

Photos: The attached photos include the day sheet, accommodations, and pictures from Rome and Vatican City. For more pictures please see the following albums

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089680&l=4305e&id=21902759

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089681&l=3a47f&id=21902759

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089684&l=a9fa9&id=21902759

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089685&l=963ad&id=21902759

Jun 4, 2008

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