When in Rome...

8.27
We left our hostel around 5:45 to get to the airport for our splendid day of travel: Paris-Munich, 5 hour layover in Munich, Munich-Rome. Word of warning: don't bring more than 20 kilos (44 lbs.) on a inter-European flight. Fortunately for me, Jessica's luggage was lost on her flight over to Europe, so she was able to check my other bag, saving me obscene fees. I'll spare you the boring details of the rest of the day...needless to say, we all got to Rome in one piece.

8.28
In the afternoon we walked to the Vatican, and went inside St. Peter's Basilica. It was stunningly gorgeous. We also went below the Basilica to the crypt where many previous Popes are buried. The rest of the afternoon was consumed by waiting for more friends to arrive. We met Chris and Teresa at their B&B and then walked around to find dinner, along the way we just happened to bump in to the Colosseum, so we ate dinner on a patch of grass outside its entrance. It was stunning!

The Vatican

inside

Colosseum

8.29
This was really our only "big" day in Rome, simply because it was SO hot, and their transportation system is not as easily accessible to tourists, making it hard to do a lot in one day.

The day started off with a guided tour of the Colosseum, followed by a Guided tour of Palentine Hill. When we were through with that, we wandered on our own through the Roman Forum. Once we had our fill of the many ruins, we found some gelato (so good!) and headed towards the Pantheon. From there, we walked through the city a bit, just taking it all in. After our stomachs could be silenced no longer, we found a restaurant for dinner (the only time we actually ate out in 2 weeks!), and I had my first drink ever! (Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm not a big fan...in fact I only had 1/2 a glass of Wine, and the rest of the girls finished off the bottle!) After our hearty Italian meal, it was off to the Spanish Steps, followed by the Trevi Fountain...

inside the Colosseum

The Roman Forum

Pantheon

@ an Italian Restaurant

Spanish Steps

Stunning sunset over Rome

Trevi Fountain

8.30
Katie and I were on our own for the day, again, we did a bit of aimless wandering, revisiting Trevi fountain in the light of day (I threw 3 coins in, so now I'm apparently destined to marry an Italian...). We spent a good portion of the afternoon at our hostel. Just before 5, we headed out to meet up with Chris and Teresa for a bit of a farewell dinner (they headed to Florence while Katie and I were going to be staying in Rome the next few days.)



8.31
The day of the Vatican Museum. So, we just happened to luck out as the Vatican Museum is free on the last Sunday of each month (saving us 8 euro), and we figured that getting in line around 8:30 (the open at 9) would be more than sufficient. Boy were we wrong. The line wrapped around good 1.5 miles....we didn't even get into the museum until 10, and we weren't even close to the end of the line! Not to knock the Vatican Museum, but due to an over-abundance of people, the heat, and all the time we'd been spending in museums the past weeks I just lost interest really fast. I am glad I can say I've been to the Sistine Chapel...it is truly amazing, and I do wish I could have stayed there longer to take it all in, but there were simply too many people there to truly enjoy it. In the end, we spent nearly as much time waiting in line as we did in the Museum itself.

9.1
Our last day in Rome. Katie and I headed out to the Catacomb of St. Sebastian, which are hardly conveniently located, but we found them none-the-less. We had a guide who took us through, and it was all very fascinating. It only lasted a half hour though, so it was a bit pricey in that regard. The rest of the day was filled with repacking and getting ready for our travels to Salzburg.

Nuns at the Church at the Catacomb of St. Sebastian