When In Rome…

Buon Giorno!

26 June:  We got up bright and early this morning to head to Rome.  Once we got there, we went straight to the hotel to drop off our backpacks…so glad to get rid of those after the long walk!  We were all so eager to see the Coliseum, so we grabbed a map and hit the road running.  As we walked out of the metro tunnel we could see the Coliseum and all it's glory.  It was hard to grasp all that happened  there.  We joined a tour that led us through the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum.  It was very interesting to see that part of history in person.  We were amazed at how advanced Roman civilization was for that time period.  It also made Leanne and I glad we were born in a different generation since women weren't so highly regarded.  As Leanne said "they were treated like poo."  Once we were finished with our tour, we walked to the place were Peter and Paul were imprisoned…the Mamertinum prison beneath the church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami.  Wow…to see such a pivotal part of the story of faith was incredible.  After all of our historical adventures of today and being in the HOT sun, we decided to go back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.  We began our journey to find a restaurant and were stopped at the first corner past our hotel by an eager server looking for business.  The married Egyptian server tried to romance Karen.  Leanne pointed out the ring so Karen gave the server a hard time about it.  The other male wait staff held up there hands to show they were available.  Thus begins an evening full of entertainment.  P.S. The house wine was fantastic!  After dinner we went back over to the Coliseum for some night picture time.  It was beautiful!  While we were there, a street vendor tried to sell Adam a light-up, slingshot helicopter thingy.  He wanted a ridiculous 5 Euro for it, but Adam negotiated him down to 2.50 Euro.  It was pretty fun to watch his negotiating skills.  From there we went back to the hotel for nighty night time. 

27 June:  We rushed out the door at 9am to join a 10am tour of the Vatican City.  After missing our guide at the metro, we navigated our way to the tour office.  He met us there along with the other tourists.  We set out to see the Pope and received a blessing as he spoke to a large crowd.  When we first got there it seemed like a sporting event.  There were people cheering and bands playing.  The Pope walked out and you could just feel the reverence sweep over the room.   It was such an honor to be in the same room with such an important religious leader.  The tour led us to the Vatican Museum next.  There we saw amazing paintings and sculptures by some of the greatest artists of the time.  Our guide said that there was so much to see in the museum and if you stopped at each piece of work for only 30 seconds it would take 7 1/2 years to see.  Leanne and Karen had flashbacks to the Louvre.  We walked out into a courtyard where our guide told us all about the history of the Sistine Chapel.  Once we got in, we were in awe of the intricate paintings!  We loved that even though the Pope wanted Michelangelo to paint the twelve apostles, Michelangelo insisted that he paint it a different way.  Finally the Pope gave in and Michelangelo painted the story of Salvation.  Our tour ended in St. Peter's Basilica…the largest in the world.  It was spectacular!  We wondered what it would be like to be there for a service.  After our tour, we were so hungry so we stopped for lunch at a pizzeria along our walk back to the metro.  Not sure if the food was really as amazing as we thought at the time or if we were so hungry that anything would have tasted like a gourmet meal. Next, we moved on to see the Spanish Steps.  At first glance they weren't exactly what we expected, but then we realized there was more to see.  The Trinità dei Monti sat at the top of the stairs and it was such a beautiful building!  There were also artists at the top painting and drawing.  We went on to see the Il Vittoriano, the national monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy.  Finally, we saw the Pantheon.  It's beautiful columns and concrete dome were quite a sight to see.  We ended the day at the train station trying to get tickets to our next destination…tbd since we weren't able to purchase any.  We are also sad to be losing Adam tomorrow morning…it's been a fun and busy week on our whirlwind tour of Italy. 

Ciao for now,

Karen and Leanne