Rome wasn’t built in a day… but it was seen in 3

you know what they say... when in Rome?

We arrived in Rome to find out that we were in the middle of a heat wave (and as we found out later, the two hottest days of the year).  The first day we wandered around to see what we wanted to do in the next couple we were there…  Our bed and breakfast (another awesome one) was about 10 minutes from the Colosseum so we decided to walk and check that out first. 

On our second day we did a lot of the touristy sights.  We found the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, lots of plazas and churches, and a monument dedicated to Vittorio Emmanuel (the first president).  Travis and I thought it was pretty cool but, as we read later, a lot of people in Rome thinks it a bit of an eye sore as all of buildings in Rome are brown and this one is made from marble (and has 50 tonne bronze statues on it).  We spent the night walking down by the river where there was a lot of restaurants and things to do.

What crowds?

Our day in the Vatican City was probably our most entertaining. We had heard from multiple people to book tickets in advance as lines can get very long. When we got there we were happy that we did because the line was close to a kilometer long.  Once in the city (which is a separate state so you are no longer in Italy) we went to the Vatican Museum.  There we saw lots of statues, books, pots, etc. (dating back thousands of years) as well as the Sistine Chapel. 

Travis' illegal picture of the Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is where our entertainment began.  When you enter, it is a long rectangular room with  frescoes (by Michelangelo, among others) painted on the ceiling and is packed with people.  As a rule, you are not allowed to:

      a. take pictures

      b. sit on the steps or

      c. talk loudly. 

Well, as you can imagine, that doesn’t bode well with tourists so people try to secretly try to snap photos.  This results in being screamed at by the guard (see rule a.) who then yells SHHHHH to everyone.  Because the room is so crowded and the ceiling has so much to see, many people try to sit down (again guard yells and see rule a, b and again c).  So, while it is amazing, most of the time is spent in a very crowded room with guards screaming and people trying to secretly take pictures.  Anyways, the Sistine Chapel was really amazing and an experience to see.

After looking at the rest of the Vatican Museum (which consists of the different wings that different popes have had built) we were off to St. Peter’s Basilica.  Before you are allowed in, you are shuffled through security and then pass through two guards who inspect your clothing (the real life ‘fashion police’ as Travis called them).  If you were wearing something that didn’t cover your shoulders or was above your knees (aka no tank tops or shorts) you weren’t allowed in.  Despite there being multiple signs and people being turned away everyone still tried to get in.  So, instead of going right into St. Peter’s  we decided to sit on the steps and watch the tourists who hadn’t dressed properly try to change their attire to get in. 

This included:  1. Unbuttoning your skirt and pulling it as low as it would go even if that meant your butt hung out

                           2. tying a scarf around your knees and waddling in

                           3. tying a scarf around your wife beater and getting turned around by guards who tell you scarves are only for women

                           4. wrapping yourself in a giant sheet

   … or (my personal favorite) 5. Charging the guards and running as fast as you can away from them into the church

         

After watching this for a while we went in. The Basilica is absolutely amazing and something that really can only be seen (I’d be doing it a disservice to attempt to describe it). 

Our last day in Rome was spent at the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.  It was really amazing to see something that old (and really, kinda hard to understand how old it really was).  We then walked around some more and went to one of the top 3 rated restaurants in Rome (delicious of course).  We are now on a train to Florence.  We have a cooking class booked for tonight and are thinking about booking a Tuscan wine tour for tomorrow (I’ll check it out for you mom!).  CIAO!