Rome, Day 2 / Vatican City

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Like I said before. We headed down to the Vatican today with our new friends Jon and Steph. Jon was one of the 100000 Canadians we met on this trip. They are taking over the continent. Steph is a girl from North California. They were nice to walk around with for the day, so we invited them along. First we headed to the Vatican at about 10:30 am, and man was it beautiful. The Vatican was breathtaking, and was by far our favorite part of the whole city of Rome. The architecture and art of the city, plus its history, make it a place you cannot miss out on. But the Vatican is beyond words.

First we explored all of Saint Peter’s Square, then headed over to the line to get up in the dome. After 45 minutes, 4 euro, and 640 steps, we got the most amazing views of the city. You could see to its limits on each side, plus a great view of all the sites. This was the 4th place in a row that we got amazing panoramic views of the cities we were in. (Nice, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome). After that, we spent another hour in the basilica itself, which was beautifully adorned and also beyond words. We finally ended in the crypt where we saw the grave of John Paul II. After a short prayer, we headed back to Saint Peter’s Square. Picked up a few surprise gifts for people (sorry mom), and after 4 hours we were done. The museums were closed, so we will be returning to them on Saturday morning. We crossed the river and saw Castel Sant Angelo before witnessing one the most hilarious moments of our trip. When crossing a bridge, we were hounded by the usual crippled beggers and illegal merchandise salesmen. As we crossed, the policia pulled up, and about 120 vendors rolled their Gucci, Prada, and Dolce and Gabbana merchandise and sprinted. A bunch of people we lucky enough to pick up the dropped items, and the police just laughed as they sprinted off. This was no jog, but a pure sprint for a while.

Anyways, we headed to the Patheon and a few of the sites we missed the first day. We saw the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Novona, Campo di Fiori, Palazzo Famese, Templo-Adriano, and St Andrews Basilica. Everything for the rest of the day we dwarfed by the Vatican, but still nice. We sat down for dinner where I had the most amazing pizza of my life. The day before I had already the most amazing pasta, but this pizza was perhaps the best food I’ve ever eaten.

We headed to Panorama, the Italian Walmart, then back to Camp Onowanna (aka - our campground). It’s actually called Village Roma and was exactly like summer camp, but it was a lot fun. Heather and I talked about what I called the “Golden Triad” of travelers we have seen: 1. Hippies (who are out of control), 2. Loners (80 percent of the people we meet are traveling alone), 3. Canadians (50 % of the country has been displaced to Europe). I am just amazed by all the 20-24 year olds, both guys and girls, who are traveling alone for months at a time.

During the day, we also saw our wonderful South Korean friends from the train the night before. The only American things we can talk about with them are sports. They would YELL, MLB, LA DODGERS, CHAN HO PARK, NHL in their funny voices. But we talked about our cultures for a few hours, and it was a lot of fun. One thing I can say is that when Europeans say they know a “little English” *show the little finger motion*, they know a lot. Everyone here is speaks some English, but it has still been very interesting to get around. Tomorrow we are off to a hotel to get out hostel life for just a bit, so that should be fun.

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Photos

Me on top of the Vatican
I was on top of Saint Peter's Square

Heather and I at the Vatican
Good Catholics

Comments

[Jeannine]

I am jealous
Can we get some more pictures of the sis? Thaaaaanks!!