Day 17- Rome, Italy

After a rough start for some people this morning and a breakfast from our hostel mom we headed to the subway to catch sight of the Trevi fountain. There is a story that says if you throw a coin into the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder then you will be sure to return to Rome. If you throw two coins you will fall in love, and if you throw three coins you will get divorced. I only threw one coin. After a quick bite of pizza we jumped back on the subway and went to the Ottaviano stop to see the Vatican. First we went to the Vatican Museum, after we got a little lost, and saw all sorts of neat artwork. We saw a ton of early Christian art, the picture gallery, and of course the Sistine Chapel. You aren’t allowed to take pictures in there but we sniped some which I will post later.

 

We rushed over to St. Peter’s because it was about to close for the day. I really enjoyed walking through the Basilica and seeing all the extravagant statues, stained glass, and paintings. I wanted to go to mass in the Basilica but we were not there during the mass times. We also went through the tombs and got to see a much of famous people. Most of the tombs are still being guarded and you can only stop to pray or lay a flower or note. Julie asked a security guard and the bodies are really in the tombs in the crypt. After St. Peter’s we went back on the subway to the Barbarini stop to get an early dinner near the Trevi fountain. We ate at Mangianapoli in their garden out back. That is, until it started to rain and hail. I had some yummy spaghetti with bacon and onions. I hope that sounds good to you Abby J Our long day left us tired and dirty so after cleaning up we headed out to find some fun. First we came across a photo booth where we played a fun game of “How many Americans can you fit into a photo booth?” The answer is 5.

 

We came across a bar playing American music and went downstairs to find some other young American travelers dancing. We hung out for a while but didn’t feel like spending so much money on their cheap beer. So we left and went to the corner store to get some wine. Unfortunately the man at the shop didn’t speak any English but his helped spoke Spanish. So I got to negotiate with the Peruvian to make our purchase. I tried to make some small talk but he was not interested in chatting. We drank our wine sitting on the corner because you cant walk around with an open bottle. I didn’t notice until the man came up to us but apparently we were sitting on his flattened cardboard box that he uses as a bed. I don’t know which was more embarrassing, waking up on the floor of the hallway in the middle of the night or sitting on a homeless man’s bed.

 

We watched the sun rise over the Coliseum which was possibly the most amazing sight I’ve seen so far.

 

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I saw some places that are very important to the Catholic religion, which was pretty neat.

 

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I missed seeing the pope by one day.