All Roads Lead to Rome

All roads may lead to Rome, but Kinsey and I conquered the streets of Rome today. We left our Hostel this morning at around 8:30 and headed off to the Metro station. On our way we stopped at a small shop on the side of the road that had very nice pastries for Breakfast. Then it was of to the Vatican City. We got on the Metro and crowded in with all the locals for a few stops. We had begun. We first walked down to St. Pietro or St. Peter's where all the dead popes are buried and where the Pope addresses the nation when we see him on TV in the United States. Inside St. Peter's was absolutely gorgeous and I have put some pictures with this of the inside. When coming out of the Basilica, we were happy to see that we had gotten such an early start as there was a crazy line to get in. Our next stop was the Vatican City museum. We stood in line here for an hour and a half. It was well worth our wait. Inside we saw things such as the painting School of Athens and of course the Sistine Chapel. I have to say I have seen so many pictures of it and heard so many stories that i was expecting so much from the Sistine Chapel, that I really was not amazed by it. I have included pictures of the chapel as well. Don't get me wrong, it was still great to it and was amazing to think that he laid on his back for so long to complete the chapel. Overall, Vatican City and St. Peter's are a definite must when in Rome.

From here, Kinsey and I really had no plans. We had already decided we wanted to finish our night by seeing the colosseum at night, because we will be seeing it tomorrow morning in the daylight. So, we decided to use the map given to us by our hostel manager and visit some of the sights he suggested. Of course as the saying goes, when in Rome do what the Romans do. We did. We found a cool pizzeria right around the corner from St. Peter's and got some of the best pizza I have ever had. Then we headed off and saw a cool looking castle where Kinsey and I learned the idea of tricking tourists. Two men dressed as roman soldiers came to us and said take pictures with us. Duh, we took pictures with them and had fun, oops they forget to mention it was 5 euros. We both decided it was well spent money and moved on away from that area. Then came the tricky part, finding the Pantheon. Kinsey and I got lost a time or two, but it was a good lost. We got to find things in Rome that we would not have seen otherwise so it was really great. We got to the Pantheon just in time before it closed and got to take some pictures of the tomb of the first King of Italy Victor Emmanuel. After leaving the Pantheon we headed to get Gelato (ice cream) and it was the best I have ever had. So creamy and rich. I do not know that I will ever be able to eat it in the US again without thinking of Gelato.

Next we happened upon a really cool fountain which we later found out was one of the signature fountains to see as a tourist in Rome. We also headed by the government buildings which were really cool. We then headed down towards the area our hostel manager told us we could get cheap but authentic italian food. On our way we ran into the monument to honor the first King Victor Emmanuel and it was HUGE! We then stumbled across ancient ruins that were from AD 160 and Kinsey, history major, had a minor freak out in a good way. Dinner came next. We found a quiet little place near the river and had pasta! I had a pasta with oil, bacon and cheese. Amazing. Then comes the best part of the day. Seeing Kinsey's face of shock when we turned the corner and saw the Colosseum for the first time. I was gorgeous lit up at night. We walked around it and found where the Gladiator's trained and then walked under the tunnel to go to the Colosseum. We are now back in the hostel getting ready to get some sleep so that we can make an early start to the Colosseum tomorrow morning before we train ride to Siena tomorrow at lunch time. We checked and will not have internet access in Siena, but when we get to Florence on Monday I will be sure to update you on all our adventures. Can't wait.