Rome in half a day

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Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, St Peter’s Square
A 5am start!!!!! Can you believe it? As it’s a special day at the Vatican today the local guide advises us to start our Vatican tour early to beat the crowds. What a struggle to get up!

I must say once we arrive at the Vatican it’s all worth it. Our local guide Patricia leads us through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and St Peter’s Square over a couple of hours. Heaps of walking and heaps of information. The Sistine Chapel was a definite highlight. The paintings alone are amazing, but imagining Michael Angelo painting it onto the ceiling is mind blowing. There are heaps of people in the chapel and they are continually being told to not talk. You’re not allowed to talk, take photos or videos while you’re inside.

Coliseum
With a rushed lunch and some souvenir shopping we’re back on the bus to the Coliseum. Patricia guides us through for a short tour. This woman sure can speak! She is full of facts hardly taking a breath! As the temperature climbs we explore take some photos then are given free time. We buy the some souvenirs haggling with stall owners around the Coliseum. I am on a haggling streak! I knock off Euros of each souvenir. To cool down we get some gelato and wait by the bus to return to the hotel.

Back to the suburbs
It’s only 4.30pm when we return to the hotel. Some others decide to stay in Rome and make their way back to the hotel. We just can’t be bothered as we’re so tired, sleepy, and have a lot of washing to do. We make plans with Louisa and Michael for dinner and then gather our dirty clothes to take to the Laundromat.

The Laundromat was a real experience. We had no idea at all! To save money we did only 2 loads - black plus colours and white. That’s including socks and underwear! It costs 4.50 Euros per load (up to 7kgs) and 3.50 Euros to dry it all. It’s all done in an hour. Our clothes are slightly damp when we get it back. We didn’t set the dryer high enough I guess. We didn’t want to set it too high in case it burnt our clothes!

With the washing hanging all over our room and on the balcony, we meet Louisa and Michael downstairs in the lobby. They’re brother and sister and are Italians from Victoria. Louisa is 27 and is a primary school teacher while Michael (24) studied Accounting, did it for a year, then quit. He hated it. He now works at Safeway as a Manager.

We have dinner at the shopping centre next to our hotel. It has a couple of pizzerias, a pastry shop, clothes shops, supermarket etc. Todd and I have a piece of pizza each and a soft drink. Total comes to 5.50 Euro. After dinner we stop in at the pastry shop and choose some for dessert. Total comes to 3.20 Euro. Italy is so cheap for food! We rush to the supermarket and buy some essentials - water, toiletries and snacks. Water is SO much cheaper in supermarkets. 2 litres costs 25 Euro cents as opposed to a 500ml bottle for 2 Euros from a take away shop. We part at the lobby, go back to our room, pack our bags, shower and watch half an episode of American Inventor. Tired tired tired…we fall asleep at 10.30pm.

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Comments

[Sammi]

You look like Russell Crowe
I typed in Jessica Mercado Blog and you were in the no. 1 spot. Incredible!! Anyway, looks like you're having fun over there. We will join you soon. I called the travel agent yesterday and I told them you referred me and she said she remembers you. Jess must have haggled hard because she remembers you and I cannot get the same price as you!! I am slightly worried that you have not entered your blog for a few days now. Please keep it updated. Cheers

[Sammi]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
From the mates in the city!!