Italia!

This morning we got up around 7:15 with the intentions of leaving around 8 to get to the Vatican early, because earlier I had read that on 3rd Sunday of the month the Vatican Museums were open free to the public if you arrived between 8:30 and 12:30. . We were only a few minutes late to leave the hostel, so the day was already starting out very well. We walked back to the train station and took our first cab to the Vatican. The cab driver spoke barely any English, and we speak no Italian so it took a couple minutes for him to completely understand where exactly we wanted to be dropped off but luckily he was able to comprehend what we were saying and dropped us off in the right spot. The taxi ride through Rome was the first time we actually got to see the city since it was dark when we arrived so we were completely blown away. It was absolutely gorgeous. The driver dropped us off right in front of St. Peter’s Basilica (Basilica S. Pietro) so we had a very impressive first impression of Rome.

We weren’t sure where we needed to be for the line to get into the Vatican Museums, so we decided to join the line outside of St. Peter’s and start our adventures there. The line took about 30min to get through with security and making sure we had the appropriate attire. The Vatican doesn’t allow short skirts or shoulders showing. There were signs of people wearing swimsuits crossed out all over, which of course was humorous to us because who walks around in a swimsuit! When we entered St. Peter’s Basilica we saw that they were getting ready for mass and it was jammed pack with people (of all diversity which I absolutely loved! I think that is my favorite part of traveling, just getting able to experience how vast the world really is and the seeing the different assortment of people.) We walked around the church awe struck. It was beautiful inside, and the best part was that we got in for free! While we were inside, Cori decided to do confessions and I tried to go into a sanctuary but got told off by a police that it was closed to the public that day. Oops! We also heard the beginnings of a mass, but we decided not to stay because we needed to get to the museums if we wanted free entrance. As we were walking outside there were big screens that showed the aisle the priest walks down to the front altar, and suddenly it focused in on none other than the pope! We had no idea he was going to be there, and figured the big crowd was a regular appearance on a Sunday morning. We didn’t actually get to see the pope face to face (it was so crowded we wouldn’t have been able to see him even if we were inside) but we were in the same place at the same time and saw him on the big screen. Its so exciting to be able to say that!

Afterwards we walked about a block and a half (using our amazing map that NEVER got us truly lost!) and we joined the line for the Vatican. Since none of us had any idea how far away the entrance was really had no clue how long the line was. We soon found out that it wrapped around a couple of blocks and took us 2 hours to get through. The couple in front of us were from London and incredibly nice though. The girl told us a little about Florence and we had a bonding moment when a group of people tried to cut in front of us when we were about 10min to going inside. First off I can’t believe someone would have the nerve to do that, and secondly I hadn’t stood in line for 2 hours to have someone just take my spot in line when it was so close to noon and I was worried about making it in time for no entrance fee. We ended up talking to them but the acted like they did nothing wrong so we ended up telling the guards at the entrance who told them they couldn’t enter (they had the word of pretty much anyone close to the vicinity of us. We had all been standing by each other for the best couple of hours doing nothing but look at each other so we knew very well who had been in line with us.) After that frustration and the nervousness of making it inside on time we had an amazing time! The museums are incredibly extensive with sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and trillions of historical artifacts. Every room was intricately put together, the ceilings and the floors were absolutely gorgeous. We also got to see the Vatican Gardens and the famous Pinecone statue. What we were really looking forward to was seeing the Sistine Chapel, though. It took about an hour to finally make it to that room. It was fairly crowded but we still got an amazing experience. As its one of Michelangelo’s most famous works of art, and one of the most popular in the world, it was incredible to see in person! We stayed in there just staring at everything and taking it all in for a good amount of time. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but all around us people were doing it any ways. The poor guards were running all over the place and shinning a laser light in people’s eyes to get them to stop but they never did. There was also announcements in 3 different languages about being respectful by being quiet and not taking pictures. I couldn’t believe people were still doing it! But the chapel was too amazing to let that get to us so I just tried to ignore it. After we left we tried to go back to the gardens but the museum closed at 2 so we had to start heading out.

Since we hadn’t ate yet we decided to search for something cheap to eat. We passed about a million restaurants and little markets on the sidewalks, and finally settled on Paninis (actually called paninos here). They were a great choice! We all split 2 and ate them in a Piazza Risorgimento as we watched all the people walk by and a girl playing with her tiny adorable puppy! When we finished we decided to walk to some of the highlight spots on our map. We didn’t actually know what hardly any of the places were that we went but they were still absolutely amazing to see. The Roman architecture is so beautiful and impressive! We first walked down by the river, Fiume Tevere, crossed the bridge Porte Vittorrio Emanuele ll, and saw the Castel Sant’ Agelo and then the Giustizia Plaza that was under construction but still impressive. There we crossed the river again on the Ponte Umberto l and walked north along the river to Ara Pacis and Mausoleo Augusto. There we saw a statue of St. Ambrose so of course we got all excited that we saw something that reminded us of our school in Rome! We then headed up to Piazza del Popolo which is the most beautiful square I have ever seen! There was a large column in the middle, 2 fountains on opposite sides of the square, and another side was made by a building with two domes roofs. We climbed up a long set of stairs not exactly knowing where it would take us. We ended up being at the Pincio that had a breathtaking view of the city. Our next destination was the Spanish steps (Trinita dei Monti) where we ended up standing at the top for a while not knowing we were there (from our angle it just looked like a couple of stairs!). The stairs and the area around it was extremely crowded.

We then set off by the map again and walked to the Trevi Fountain! Again gorgeous and incredibly crowded. We were able to squeeze in for a few pictures, but there were very annoying venders walking around getting in people’s faces trying to sell things. Annoying! Afterwards we decided to squeeze in the Pantheon before it got dark. On our walk we passed the Tempio Adriano. As soon as we got into the Pantheon we got lucky again, because a guide came up and told us to join a free promotional tour he was giving! It was great getting the history of it while we were there. Afterwards we walked back to the Trevi Fountain to buy Gelato and rest our feet for a while. I got a crème and raspberry flavored one that was absolutely amazing! As we sat at the fountain we made wishes by throwing the coins over our shoulder.

By then we were tired but decided to walk back to the hostel and try to fit in a few more places. The first place we wandered upon was the president’s house (Quirinale). Where we were had a beautiful view of St. Peter’s Basilica and another large fountain. Our next stop was the Palazzo delle Esposizioni where we rested on the steps for a while. Our feet were broken at this point! After we wandered to San Carlo Quantro Fontane that had 4 impressive statues built into the sides of the building on each corner of the street. Our last stop was at the Republica in the Piazza della Repubblica. The building was again amazing, and the enormous roundabout had an awesome fountain in the middle that we sat by for a while. We then walked by the Santa Maria deglie Angeli and headed back to our hostel for the night.