Roma

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I'm finally updating! I know you are all very excited.

Monday morning, Libby and I got back from our last vacation. We were gone for two weeks, so I will put up many posts...be patient with me.

For this vacation we decided to do a little "tour d'Italie et tour de France". Our first destination was Rome, Italy. We left Perpignan around noon, Friday April 11. We had a couple of layovers in Montpelier and Nice before getting on our night train to Rome. We got into Rome around 10 on Saturday the 12th and headed straight to the hostel. It was difficult to find because it wasn't really labeled...I swear we walked past it fifty times. Finally we found it and checked in. Our rooms weren't ready yet, but we left our luggage and headed out for the day. We had already planned out what we were going to do each day and decided it would be best to do Vatican City first, so that's where we went. When we got to the Vatican, there was a HUGE line for the Basilica that stretched all the way around St. Peter's Square, it was crazy, but it moved pretty fast. We eventually got into the Basilica. It was amazing, I don't even know how to describe it in a way that will do it justice. It was a bit difficult to take pictures because the lighting wasn't spectacular, but I took a few good ones and bought postcards of things I couldn't get pictures of. Everything was just so ornate and perfect. There were so many paintings and decorations...it was just beautiful. After finishing in the Basilica, we got into another line. This one was for the Papal Tombs. Yes, I know, creepy. I like creepy stuff though. We couldn't take pictures, but I don't think this memory will ever leave my mind. To be in the presence of so many holy men, most saints, was amazing. I felt so blessed. Of course we saw the tomb of John Paul II. That was probably the best thing. It was so touching. There were so many flowers around it and pictures (even a photo album) of people I presume prayed to him and were granted miracles. It showed me how much he is still loved and revered and how much he did, and continues to do for the world. After the tombs we did a little souvenir shopping before getting in line AGAIN, this time for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We had to walk through about four miles of halls and rooms (albeit magnificent halls and rooms with lots of paintings and sculptures) before reaching the end, the Sistine Chapel. We just stood in the middle of the room staring at the ceiling with our mouths open. Libby had already visited it, but the effect was the same both times. I can't even stand to paint a tiny tiny picture, let alone a ginormous room! Its amazing to say the least. The Sistine Chapel was a great end to our first day in Rome.

For the second day, we wandered around the Ancient City. That's where all the Roman ruins and the like are. We first took the metro to the Colosseum. As soon as we walked out of the metro station we were greeted by the Colosseum. We walked around the outside for a bit, but we didn't go in because Libby had been told before that all the interesting stuff was on the outside, so why not save some money? After getting our fill of the Colosseum, we walked to Palatine Hill. In order to get in, we had to buy a ticket, a ticket that included entrance to the Colosseum. Looks like we'll be visiting it after all! Palatine Hill is the ruins of an ancient horse track (I bought this really cool book that tells of all the ancient sights around Rome). The ruins were really cool, we (ok, really I) had lots of fun climbing around, sitting on walls, peeking through little holes in walls...all in a skirt too! I swear I've never grown up. Also connected to Palatine Hill are the Roman Forums. A lot of government and religious stuff there. It was around 2 pm before we ate lunch. After eating, we went back to the Colosseum where we were accosted by every english speaking tour guide in the world offering tours into the Colosseum. This happened at St. Peter's Basilica too. Each time, we pretended we didn't speak English...French finally came in handy, haha. I'm glad we decided to go into the Colosseum. It was really interesting to see all the ruins and be able to walk through them. Too bad the history of the Colosseum is so gruesome, you really don't want to like it so much. After finishing at the Colosseum we took the metro to the shopping area. We didn't really buy anything, but its always fun to look. Then we went back to the main train station to wander around the big bookstore they have and get dinner.

For the third, and final, day in Rome, we tried to tie up some loose ends. This is probably a good time to share a little story. In my Let's Go Western Europe book, there is a little article about the Top 10 places to smooch in Rome. I thought it would be really funny for Libby and I to follow its advice, except I forgot the notebook where I had written the list out, so we forgot a couple. We started out bisouing (St. Peter's Square, waiting for the metro, Palatine Hill)...then things regressed as we started whining at each other more and more. There are pictures of Libby pretending to punch me (Villa Borghese), Libby trying to strangle me and throw me down the Spanish Steps, me getting my revenge at the Trevi Fountain, us trying to be civil at Santa Maria in Cosmedin (church where St. Valentines's head is), and finally us not speaking on a bridge that was supposed to be Ponte Sisto, but I don't know where we ended up. No worries though, all of that was just for the camera, we were still good buds. I'll explain some of the places a little bit more. We first went to Villa Borghese. When we got out of the metro station, it looked like we were in the middle of nowhere. It was my idea, and both of us were thinking "Freya, where the heck did you bring us," hence the pictures of Libby punching me. But it all turned out good! We found our way to the park, it was beautiful. We sat on a big log and listened to our ipods for a bit. P.S. before vacation, our comprehension oral prof had us listen to some French songs. It was then that I discovered my new wedding song. All My Life is out the window, now its Presque Rien by Francis Cabrel (nobody else can steal it from me!!!!!!!!). Yeah, so we were listening to that on the log, it was one of the most perfect vacation moments. And then a grandpa walked by with his little 3 year old grandson. The little guy kept looking at us and smiling so we waved, then he said "Ciao." It was so cute! After the park we grabbed some McDonald's and ate on the Spanish Steps. Once we finished our deliciously healthy and typical Italian meal, haha, we walked to the Trevi Fountain. This thing is enormous. It covers the entire side of a building. It was really cool. We had some other random places to hit up, and headed south. First we stopped at Santa Maria in Cosmedin. As I said before, it holds the head of St. Valentine. After that we went to the island in the middle of the Tiber. This is where we took the wrong bridge pictures, but oh well. Along the perimeter of the island, there is a walkway. Along the walkway there is an inclined wall the people were using to sunbathe, so we joined them for a little rest. After we had enough sun, we meandered over to the Pantheon. It was pretty cool too...there's only so many words I can use to describe these things, sorry. It was made into a Basilica...really random. We then rode the metro back to Termini train station for dinner. This was when we realized we didn't have any postcards of Rome and all of the postcards around the train station were really big and really expensive. So we decided to go back to Vatican City where we had seen normal sized, cheaper, postcards. It was starting to get a bit dark once we had bought the postcards so we thought it would be cool to go to the Colosseum and see it at night. It wasn't dark enough when we got there, so we ate some more gelato (we had some everyday) and waited for the lights. It was really neat. And I'm pretty sure that was the latest we had ever stayed out on vacation, pretty sad.

That's it for Rome!

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Photos

St. Peter's Square
Me waiting in line for St. Peter's Basilica.

Palatine Hill
Me with the horse track behind my head

At the Roman Forum
Libby told me this building was one of the first government places. I think it has something to do with the Roman Senate.

Villa Borghese
Libby and me listening to Francis Cabrel on a log in the park

Spanish Steps
This was before Libby threw me down them

Trevi Fountain
isn't it huge????

the Pantheon
the domed ceiling of the Pantheon

rome 343
Libby and me eating gelato before viewing the Colosseum at night