Rome

Sorry everyone for not being up to date...

Monday March 9th we left Barcelona for Rome. We almost missed our flight, and barely made it to the gate on time. Nick was freaking out. We got into Rome and took a train from the airport to the Termini station in central Rome. Taking a wrong turn in the station, we ended up in a graffiti filled ghetto so my first impression of Rome was not a very positive one. We finally found our way and checked into our hostel called "Freedom Travelers Hostel" We sort of walked around for a little while and saw the Trevi Fountain at dusk so it was all lit up. We also walked to the Spanish Steps before heading back to our hostel around 8 PM and going to sleep.

The next morning we got up early and immediately headed to the Vatican Museum. So much history is at this museum that you could probably go there five times and not be able to see everything. Basically the museum held several thousand years of artifacts dating back to the Romans. Also housed in the Vatican Museum is Raphael's "School of Athens" painting as well as the very famous Sistine Chapel. I liked the Sistine Chapel very much, though it was small than I had anticipated. After the Vatican Museum, we walked around the corner to the actual Vatican. It was a spetacular sight to see- so massive, so grand it is the largest church in the world. We went up to the very top (500 or so steps) and got a great view of the city. After walking up to the top, we also walked to the crypt where Pope John Paul the Second is buried. I'm really glad that I went to the crypt. After leaving the Vatican we continued our "Rome on Steroids" day and walked to the Pantheon and from there we walked to the the Roman Forum. I really love the history that the Romans have left it is so interesting that the structures they have bulit still stand today. I really wish that I had a time machine and go back to see how they lived. After walking around for a good solid 8 hours we were dead tired and went back to the hostel and took a nap. We had heard that Jason Mraz was playing in Rome that night, so even though it was sold out we decided to go anyway. I won't go into the details (who needs details anyway), but I will say that with a bit of trickery we were about to get into the show without a ticket. The show was great. Lots of Americans.

The next morning we slept in a little and went to the Colosseum. I loved the Colosseum, so much history. After that we went to the Circus Maximus which was basically just a dirt track. We continued to walk and found the Trevi Fountain again. Went back to our hostel and napped before going out to a pub (not as easy to find in Rome as opposed to London) and watched a Champions League football match.

Rome overall was a great place to go.