Stop #3 Rome

After spending time in Florence, Rome did not look quite as appealing to me. Rome has history and beautiful ruins, but is a little too touristy to make it on my "favorite cities" list. In the train station, Emily and I both needed to go to the restroom and to our surprise, it cost 0,80 € and had a long line (not to our surprise). Rome was also the only city in Italy where I witnessed an example of the Italian-boys-are-touchy stereotype... poor Michelle.

We met up with Kat, Cameron, and Marcos and saw so many things in Rome. To start with, we saw some obvious PDA in the workplace. The two people at the reception desk in our hostel did not seem to care that we were all standing there waiting for our room assignments. We of course toured the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. I purchased an audio guide for the Roman Forum and thought that it was a complete waste of money. I enjoyed just walking around and taking pictures. I loved that we were standing on the very ground that was the heart of the Roman Empire.




We visited the Trevi Fountain twice; it was no coincidence that there was a Blue Ice gelato store in the same plaza. We also went to the Pantheon (after another round of gelato... yes, it is THAT good), and met up with one of Alex's friends who was studying in Rome.



Our last big stop in Rome was Vatican City. It is not actually a part of Rome, or Italy for that matter-- it is its own entity, with a postal service, laws, and even visa requirements for certain parts. We got up early on Wednesday morning to attend a papal audience, which reminded me more of a parade than of a Catholic mass. There were people waving flags and school groups yelling chants; it was not what I had been expecting. The pope came out and spoke, but did it in multiple languages. Afterwards, we met up with our tour guide (worth every penny) and entered the Vatican maze. We learned about frescoes and were stunned by the Sistine Chapel. We also got to see Swiss Guards, who have to meet a long list of requirements in order to serve (must be at least 5'9, between 19 and 30 years old, speak at least three languages...). Vatican City was definitely unusual.