For part of our included tour package for this trip, we got to use a separate private priority entrance (no line to wait in) to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, a private tour, and access to the Bramante Staircase (which is not open to the public). The Pope was not in town today so there was not a chance of a sighting, but it also made the Vatican a little less crowded. A little. It was still a zoo. Our tour guide moved kind of slow and it was pretty annoying. When I go to places like that I like to move at my own pace and sometimes guided tours are too slow for me. For the average person I'm sure it's totally normal, but for ADD me, not okay. However, to not have to wait in the long ass lines to enter made it worth it. The most impressive part of the Vatican tour was obviously The Sistene Chapel. It's pretty amazing to think how old it was, how long it took, all the details put into it, and how it was actually physically done.
From the Vatican, we went into St. Peter's Basilica. That place is enormous. Our 30 min tour in there was about 23 minutes too long and I was getting hungry, hot, and antsy. But once again, grateful to not have to wait in line and its definitely a must see when in Rome. As we looked outside into the piazza there, I could just picture all the people normally gathered out front waiting for the Pope to wave. Kinda neat, even for this Jewish Girl.
We got a little free time after the tour and the first thing I did was take my pants off. It was really hot inside and out (heat wave here) and I needed my legs to finally be free. Then I went and got an early lunch. I went to a local cafe and got a tomato, mozzarella, and arugula sandwich on focaccia. (Ummmm yeah, and a gelato too. Nutella flavored this time.) Yum, yum, and yum. Let me tell you, I don't know if I will be able to enjoy mozzarella again in the states after having it be so amazing here. But we all know I'll sure try.
The highlight of the day came next: The Colosseum. It was awesome! (And we didn't have to wait in line again!) I was totally in awe at that structure. The fact that it is so old, ancient, historical,and still standing is so impressive. I could have walked around there all day. Even though its a giant loop, I was just so blown away by it. Outside the Colosseum there are guys dressed as Gladiators. They remind me of the episode of Friends when Joey was working as a gladiator at Cesar's palace. Or in The Hangover when Alan says "Is this the real Caesar's Palace?" Man oh man, I crack myself up. (Btw in case you didn't know (I didn't!), there is no real Caesar's Palace. Yes, I had to ask our leader.)
Across from the Colosseum is the Forum. The grounds looked pretty impressive but I didn't feel the need to tour the inside. We got a great view from the outside and went back after dinner to see it again all lit up at night. Gorge.
Everyone met up at 2:00 after the Colosseum to get on the bus and head back to the hotel and get free time until heading to dinner at 6. Most people were going back to the hotel to nap since we were up so early and didn't get our usual bus naps. Myself, Jenny, and Graham (husband of Allison, the nurse) decided we wanted to walk around and see more. The bus dropped us off halfway between the hotel and the Spanish Steps so the three of us got out and headed over there and everyone else stayed on. It had begun to drizzle and Andi offered us umbrellas. She joked if we took them that the rain would prob stop and if we didn't, we'd get poured on. We took them, so guess what happened? Yup, 88 and sunny the entire walk. It's okay.
On the way to the Spanish Steps we passed all the designer stores: Gucci, Prada, Pucci, Valentino, etc... Italian designers on an Italian street. Classic. When we got to the steps, we took pics, climbed them, and took more pics and decided to keep exploring. We made it over to Piazza del Popolo which was beautiful. We then saw more stairs with what looked to be an awesome view so decided to climb them too. Why not, right? We had the time and wanted to see more of Rome. When we got to the top, the view of the city was magnificent. We got some water, took a five minute break, and started to make our way back to the hotel. We had come across this very large park and decided to walk through it. Looking at many, many maps along the way we made it back to the hotel without getting lost. I still had an hour and half of down time so wanted to get my Italy run done. (That's country #4 I've run in this trip.) I got dressed, grabbed my map, and asked the receptionist where the best place to go was where I wouldn't get lost. I had seen a main drag on the map and planned just to do an up and back but he advised me against that and told me to go back to that park.
Apparently Rome isn't much of an active city. Very few bikes (but soooo many vespas!!) and even less runners. I didn't see a single other person running in the park. Not a one! I did what I thought was going to be a loop of the park, but it wasn't, so I turned around and went a different direction. About halfway through my run I realized the baggie I was carrying my map and key card in was open and my card was gone. At first I couldn't remember if I took it with me or not, but thought I had. I wasn't too worried because I knew I'd get back in my room one way or another. I did one more up and back of my original path (because I didn't want to get lost) and low and behold, on the path, was my key card. Phew!!! Someone was looking out for me. Maybe my visit at St. Peter's this morning gave me some luck. Prob not, but I was thrilled I found it when I wasn't even looking. This put a little spring in my step on my last mile and I headed back to the hotel to shower, change, and relax a bit before dinner.
For dinner tonight I did one of the additional dinner excursions again. It included dinner and then a nighttime tour of a very lit up Rome. The meal was at a local trattoria and was a set menu again. Although I like my choice at a restaurant, it hasn't been too common at some of the excursion dinners. Tonight however, I totally lucked out because we got the two other Italian dishes I wanted while here that I haven't had yet: Pizza and Tiramisu. (I already had my gelato, spaghetti carbonara, and caprese salad to name a few) All that is left on my must-eat in Italy checklist is a cannoli. I still have two more days to get some though. Along with the pizza and tiramisu, we also started with antipasto and had a pasta. The antipasto was huge and incredible. Like seriously amazing. And the pizza was excellent. The pasta and tiramisu I could have lived without but substituted with mucho vino. Salud!
After dinner, we went on our night tour as the sun was setting. The city had cooled down a bit and it was gorgeous out. We got stunning views of many sites of Rome including that of the Forum and the Colosseum all lit up. Picture perfect. A fabulous way to end another fabulous day!!
good morning too!!
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