Roma

Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th April

After Florence we took an early train to Rome, and once we arrived, we immediately went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It was amazing to be in a place with such deep history.

At the Colosseum, Billy and I even took his two loaves of bread and used them for our very own gladiator fight. I won.

We gawked and marveled at the Colosseum and Roman Forum for over five hours - even though half the time at the Roman Forum we had no idea what we were looking at it. It was impressive ancient rubble.

We stopped for a picnic lunch by the Colosseum only to be interrupted by Italian men from Naples. They asked us many questions in their best version of English.

Billy thought it would be a great idea to tell them our friend Nick was gay, so of course, they got a kick out of that.

Then Billy pointed at me and said, "Five euro. Five euro."

Thank you, Billy, for trying to sell me to creepy Italian men. And just for the record, I am worth more than five euro.

They eventually left. Thank goodness.

After our five hour exploration, we headed back to our hostel to check in and take a quick nap. Soon after, we were back to sightseeing.

We stopped for dinner at a small restaurant, and we had a special trick for finding cheap places to eat. We would always look at the margherita pizza price, and if that looked cheap (usually five euros) we would dine there. Ah, life as a college student.

Needless to say, by the time we left Rome I never wanted to see margherita pizza again.

At night we stopped at the Spanish steps on our way to the Trevi Fountain. We sat by fountain while eating gelato - four scoops in a chocolate nut cone. YES, please.

We continued our night tour to the Palazzo Chigi... then the Tempio Adriano... and the Ignazio di Loyola. If you were to ask me what these three were, I could not tell you. I have been meaning to google them to find out more. They were all really pretty and probably were very important in some way or another.

The next day we stopped at a piazza and climbed to the top of Pincio, where we had a great view of the city. We stopped here for photos as the sun beat down on us.

After that we walked to Vatican City and entered St. Peter's Square. It was crowded with people, and I was more than impressed with my surroundings. We stood in a random line, not sure at first what we were going to see. Eventually we found out that we were climbing to the top of St. Peter's Basilica.

We climbed, and climbed... and climbed. As we got closer to the top of the dome, the walls around us started to curve in on us.

The scene from the top was stunning, with a picturesque view of St. Peter's Square down below. It was crammed full of people all wanting to take pictures of Roma. We managed to get our own group photos and then climbed down. My legs were shaking, and I felt quite dizzy!

Next we went into the basilica, and the only word I can use to describe it is 'WOW'. It was grand.

Our next stop was the Vatican museum. The Sistine Chapel was the dramatic finish to this intense museum's displays. As we walked quickly through the museum (please, we just really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel...) I could not help but think how much money all the goodies must be worth. Paintings and sculptures and anything else that looked important...

We finally reached the Sistine Chapel. It wasn't like what I pictured in my mind. It was amazing, though, to stand with my head looking straight up - stretching my neck back as far as it would let me. I stayed like this for a long time, as if it would help me to absorb the images. It was quite the experience.

We left the Sistine Chapel, and I overheard Kathryn calling her dad to thank him for letting her experience places like the Sistine Chapel.

I could not have agreed more.

After our day at the Vatican we went to more sights, including the Pantheon.

Rome was busy but fun. Our map was our best friend, and we marked off all the major sights in two days. We were proud.

Before I went to bed on my last night in Rome, I had to say good-bye to my faithful brown boots. They had holes on every side, and I thought it would be better for my feet if I said farewell. They have been through so much with me: months of wear in London and visits to Ireland - twice, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Florence and their last stop - Rome.

I took a picture before tossing them in the trash. I can be quite sentimental.