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I went to Rome over our 3-day weekend with two girls from my program, and it completely exceeded my expectations! We arrived in Rome via train around 10:30am, and we were ready to explore by 11:00am after checking our bags at our hostel. We stopped at this little pizzeria called Super Pizza that was between our hostel and the train station. While we were sitting there (minding our own business), these somewhat intoxicated young Irishmen walked in and sat at our table. They were here for a rugby game between Italy and Ireland that was taking place somewhere in Rome. Turns out, it was a big game part of a Championship known as the Six Nations! We talked to our "new friends" for a little while before they got up and ran out of the pizzeria yelling "USA, USA, USA!" Well...that was an unexpected beginning to our trip! After we finished our lunch, we took the metro to Vatican City to spend the rest of our day there.
Wow...any picture of Vatican City will never do it justice. Walking into St. Peter's Square felt like a dream. We walked past pillars holding up an awning with statues of religious figures, and slowly the vastness of St. Peter's Square hit me. I couldn't believe I was experiencing the "headquarters" of the Catholic Church! We wandered around for a little bit, but we saw the line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was LONG. We assumed the line would take around 2 hours, and I was regretting not booking tickets in advance. We were approached by a nice woman named Maria while standing in line who was selling a tour for a discounted price since it was off season. We decided to take her up on her offer, and it was the best decision we made that day. We were able to get into the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica without waiting in any lines. Plus, we had a tour guide explaining all the historical, artistic, and religious significance of everything we saw. To our surprise, a tour was starting right as we signed up, so off we went to the Vatican Museum!
There are 54 galleries in the Vatican Museum, and we got to see a fair amount of them. As predicted, it was incredible; everywhere you looked was something even more spectacular. I saw sculptures that have been preserved for thousands of years, hand-made tapestries depicting important Biblical and political events, the place Leonard de Vinci studied, domes covered in hand-painted frescoes, and even a hallway covered in hand-painted maps of Italy from 1580-1585! As if the tour couldn't get better, we were able to get an up-close look at the Sistine Chapel. I was completely blown-away. Every square inch is covered in frescoes, and I appreciated the tour guide's background information about the scenes before going inside. I could have easily stood there for hours and still not appreciated everything thoroughly. Michelangelo...you're amazing. After forcing myself to leave, we took a side door that gave us direct access to St. Peter's Basilica. What an impressive church! The ornate mosaics were breathtaking. There were magnificent and intricate monuments dedicated to deceased Popes all over the Church. The sheer size of the Basilica was overwhelming, and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around.
After we had our full, we decided to make the climb to the top of the Bascilica. 511 steps later was the most amazing view of Vatican city. Not only was it a great view, but there was a full RAINBOW shining over the entire city. God sure has perfect timing! I was completely in awe of the views. We got our pictures just in time before it started raining. By the time we made half of our descent, it had actually stopped raining. We stopped at a platform just below the dome, and watched the sunset behind it. It was absolutely beautiful. By the time we got to the bottom, we knew we couldn't have asked for a better day. We took the metro back to our hostel, grabbed dinner, and turned in early.
The next day, Sunday February 8, started in Vatican City again. You'll never believe what happened: I. Got. Blessed. By. Pope. Francis. Ever since I was little, I've always thought it'd be neat to see the Pope. That dream came true!! Every Sunday, Pope Francis gives the Angelus Blessing over everyone in St. Peter's Square. When I heard he was in the Vatican, I knew I had to see him. That will be a memory I'll treasure for the rest of my life! After receiving our blessing, we took the metro to the Colosseum. It was a surreal experience to walk out of the metro into the sun with the Colosseum greeting me in all its glory. We walked around the outside, grabbed lunch, and got in line to go inside. The line was a lot longer than we expected, but waited it out anyway. When we finally got in, we couldn't help but wonder what the Colosseum looked like in its prime. It was just as astounding as I knew it would be. We got a lot of great pictures, and then left to walk among the Roman Forum (the ancient ruins). We saw the Arc of Constantine, Circus Maximus, Palazzo Nuovo, and the Victor Emmanuel Memorial. We found a deserted rooftop that overlooked Rome, and watched the sun set. I had my moment taking in all the beauty around me, and realizing how lucky I am to be experiencing this wonderful city. Looks I'll be leaving a piece of my heart in another city! We grabbed dinner at a great restaurant across from of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and then headed to to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We grabbed some gelato because now it's tradition to eat gelato in every Italian city we visit! Sadly, the Trevi Fountain is being renovated, so we had to imagine it's beauty without all the construction supplies. The Spanish Steps were really cool at night, and we were grateful that the metro was so close since we were so tired. After an exhausting day, we went back to our hostel to rest before our last day in Rome.
On Monday, February 9, we started our day at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica which was one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. I was amazed at the amount of gold, and the detailed frescoes. There were also monuments dedicated to several Popes buried throughout the Basilica. We made a pit-stop at Piazza della Repubblica on our way to Campo de Fiori (a popular street market). We passed more ruins, and the Victor Emmanuel Monument, too. The market was starting to close down when we got there, so we moved onto Piazza Navona where we saw the Moor Fountain, Sant'Agnese in Agone church, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, and the Neptune Fountain. We wanted to go to this one restaurant on the Piazza, but it was closed, so we decided to go to Grom (a popular Italian gelateria chain). Oh my goodness, their dark chocolate fontana gelato is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted! The chocolate paired with stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate chunks) was the perfect pick-me-up after a tiring day of walking. We ate our gelato on our way to the Pantheon. As with all the iconic Italian monuments I've seen, it was crazy to me that I was standing outside the Pantheon in the heart of Rome! We went inside, and admired the high dome with its oculus. When we were ready to brave the biting wind outside, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain to see it during the day. Along the way, we found another gem: the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It was a wonderful Church filled with even more frescoes, and ornately decorated walls and ceilings. I swear, there are more beautiful churches in Rome than in any other city!
When we finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, I let myself have my "Lizzie McGuire Moment." Even with the renovations, there was a small fountain that you could make a wish and toss a coin in. With my back turned toward the fountain, I made my wish and tossed my euro. To my surprise, I made it in the water on the first try! The girls I were with weren't so lucky. We walked the ramp that went INSIDE the fountain, so we got an up-close look at the sculptures. Next, we walked to the Spanish Steps to see them in the daylight, too. They were even prettier in the daylight! We were reluctant to leave because we knew this was our last stop before the train station. We boarded the metro feeling like we made the most of the weekend, and went to get dinner. We decided to go to the same pizzeria we went to our first lunch in Rome because it was cheap and close to the train station. When we got there, the owner (Adrian) got so excited and gave us hugs and kisses on our cheeks. We ordered our pizza, and ended up getting a picture with him. He was disappointed to find out we were leaving today (as we were), but he was happy we came back for more pizza. I was surprised he remembered us after only eating there one time! Nevertheless, it made me happy. By the time I was in the train, I was thoroughly worn out. I could have easily spent another week there, but I was so proud we crammed everything we wanted to see in such a short amount of time. Don't worry, Rome~ I'm sure I'll be back!
Wow...any picture of Vatican City will never do it justice. Walking into St. Peter's Square felt like a dream. We walked past pillars holding up an awning with statues of religious figures, and slowly the vastness of St. Peter's Square hit me. I couldn't believe I was experiencing the "headquarters" of the Catholic Church! We wandered around for a little bit, but we saw the line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was LONG. We assumed the line would take around 2 hours, and I was regretting not booking tickets in advance. We were approached by a nice woman named Maria while standing in line who was selling a tour for a discounted price since it was off season. We decided to take her up on her offer, and it was the best decision we made that day. We were able to get into the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica without waiting in any lines. Plus, we had a tour guide explaining all the historical, artistic, and religious significance of everything we saw. To our surprise, a tour was starting right as we signed up, so off we went to the Vatican Museum!
There are 54 galleries in the Vatican Museum, and we got to see a fair amount of them. As predicted, it was incredible; everywhere you looked was something even more spectacular. I saw sculptures that have been preserved for thousands of years, hand-made tapestries depicting important Biblical and political events, the place Leonard de Vinci studied, domes covered in hand-painted frescoes, and even a hallway covered in hand-painted maps of Italy from 1580-1585! As if the tour couldn't get better, we were able to get an up-close look at the Sistine Chapel. I was completely blown-away. Every square inch is covered in frescoes, and I appreciated the tour guide's background information about the scenes before going inside. I could have easily stood there for hours and still not appreciated everything thoroughly. Michelangelo...you're amazing. After forcing myself to leave, we took a side door that gave us direct access to St. Peter's Basilica. What an impressive church! The ornate mosaics were breathtaking. There were magnificent and intricate monuments dedicated to deceased Popes all over the Church. The sheer size of the Basilica was overwhelming, and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around.
After we had our full, we decided to make the climb to the top of the Bascilica. 511 steps later was the most amazing view of Vatican city. Not only was it a great view, but there was a full RAINBOW shining over the entire city. God sure has perfect timing! I was completely in awe of the views. We got our pictures just in time before it started raining. By the time we made half of our descent, it had actually stopped raining. We stopped at a platform just below the dome, and watched the sunset behind it. It was absolutely beautiful. By the time we got to the bottom, we knew we couldn't have asked for a better day. We took the metro back to our hostel, grabbed dinner, and turned in early.
The next day, Sunday February 8, started in Vatican City again. You'll never believe what happened: I. Got. Blessed. By. Pope. Francis. Ever since I was little, I've always thought it'd be neat to see the Pope. That dream came true!! Every Sunday, Pope Francis gives the Angelus Blessing over everyone in St. Peter's Square. When I heard he was in the Vatican, I knew I had to see him. That will be a memory I'll treasure for the rest of my life! After receiving our blessing, we took the metro to the Colosseum. It was a surreal experience to walk out of the metro into the sun with the Colosseum greeting me in all its glory. We walked around the outside, grabbed lunch, and got in line to go inside. The line was a lot longer than we expected, but waited it out anyway. When we finally got in, we couldn't help but wonder what the Colosseum looked like in its prime. It was just as astounding as I knew it would be. We got a lot of great pictures, and then left to walk among the Roman Forum (the ancient ruins). We saw the Arc of Constantine, Circus Maximus, Palazzo Nuovo, and the Victor Emmanuel Memorial. We found a deserted rooftop that overlooked Rome, and watched the sun set. I had my moment taking in all the beauty around me, and realizing how lucky I am to be experiencing this wonderful city. Looks I'll be leaving a piece of my heart in another city! We grabbed dinner at a great restaurant across from of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and then headed to to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We grabbed some gelato because now it's tradition to eat gelato in every Italian city we visit! Sadly, the Trevi Fountain is being renovated, so we had to imagine it's beauty without all the construction supplies. The Spanish Steps were really cool at night, and we were grateful that the metro was so close since we were so tired. After an exhausting day, we went back to our hostel to rest before our last day in Rome.
On Monday, February 9, we started our day at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica which was one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. I was amazed at the amount of gold, and the detailed frescoes. There were also monuments dedicated to several Popes buried throughout the Basilica. We made a pit-stop at Piazza della Repubblica on our way to Campo de Fiori (a popular street market). We passed more ruins, and the Victor Emmanuel Monument, too. The market was starting to close down when we got there, so we moved onto Piazza Navona where we saw the Moor Fountain, Sant'Agnese in Agone church, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, and the Neptune Fountain. We wanted to go to this one restaurant on the Piazza, but it was closed, so we decided to go to Grom (a popular Italian gelateria chain). Oh my goodness, their dark chocolate fontana gelato is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted! The chocolate paired with stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate chunks) was the perfect pick-me-up after a tiring day of walking. We ate our gelato on our way to the Pantheon. As with all the iconic Italian monuments I've seen, it was crazy to me that I was standing outside the Pantheon in the heart of Rome! We went inside, and admired the high dome with its oculus. When we were ready to brave the biting wind outside, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain to see it during the day. Along the way, we found another gem: the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It was a wonderful Church filled with even more frescoes, and ornately decorated walls and ceilings. I swear, there are more beautiful churches in Rome than in any other city!
When we finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, I let myself have my "Lizzie McGuire Moment." Even with the renovations, there was a small fountain that you could make a wish and toss a coin in. With my back turned toward the fountain, I made my wish and tossed my euro. To my surprise, I made it in the water on the first try! The girls I were with weren't so lucky. We walked the ramp that went INSIDE the fountain, so we got an up-close look at the sculptures. Next, we walked to the Spanish Steps to see them in the daylight, too. They were even prettier in the daylight! We were reluctant to leave because we knew this was our last stop before the train station. We boarded the metro feeling like we made the most of the weekend, and went to get dinner. We decided to go to the same pizzeria we went to our first lunch in Rome because it was cheap and close to the train station. When we got there, the owner (Adrian) got so excited and gave us hugs and kisses on our cheeks. We ordered our pizza, and ended up getting a picture with him. He was disappointed to find out we were leaving today (as we were), but he was happy we came back for more pizza. I was surprised he remembered us after only eating there one time! Nevertheless, it made me happy. By the time I was in the train, I was thoroughly worn out. I could have easily spent another week there, but I was so proud we crammed everything we wanted to see in such a short amount of time. Don't worry, Rome~ I'm sure I'll be back!