Wow. So let me start off this post by saying Rome was everything I imagined it to be. There is SO much to do there. Secondly, let me tell you that the overnight trains in Italy are more uncomfortable than buses. Seriously, if you're thinking about taking one, it's probably a bad plan, unless, of course, you like highly uncomfortable small seats, unbearably hot small spaces, and sketchy tatoo-covered men. Thank god Rome was cool enough to make up for all of that.
We saw all the major sites, even though many of them were unfortunately under a lot of construction. First, the Pantheon, which, to be perfectly honest, was not as impressive as I had imagined it would be. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but it didn't move me. Now the Colesium is something I could get into. It was gigantic and gorgeous, and I even was charmed by the ridiculously annoying gladiator men that stood in front to take touristy pictures with people for money.On a little side note: what is with all the Egyptian stuff in Italy?
Is any Egyptian stuff left in Egypt? There are 13 obelisks in Rome, all of which I think were stolen from Egypt, and the Egyptian museum in Torino has about a thousand tombs and mummies and stuff, so really. And also, why do silly Italians dress up as a King Tut mummy for money? Are they confused as to what country they are in? Or to they just like to cover themselves in gold shiny spandex in the 80 degree weather and not move for hours for their own amusement? If anyone could get back to me on these pressing questions, that'd be great.Anyway, back to Rome Rome and not Egypt Rome, we went to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, and it was gorgeous. The weather was perfect, it was so big that it didn't seem like there were hundreds of tourists there, and we were free to just wander around and think about all the history we were walking on. That thousands and thousands of years ago, people were celebrating the first New Year under these columns right here, and here, oh here, Julius Cesear was here. I mean, how cool is that?
In addition to all this fabulousness, I got to see Barbie, my BFFFF (or at least that many F's), and we spent the day together at the Vatican.
That's another addition to the lifetime "must-see" list, if you haven't already. The Basilica is incredibly gorgeous and not at all what I expected to look like. We also were galavanting around St. Peter's square and saw the papal tombs, including John Paul II's. Then, we went to the Vatican Musuem, which is where they keep the Sistine Chapel, the Rapahel Rooms, tapestries, maps, and statues. It's a lot to take in, and you could spend way more than a day there. FYI: the Basilica/tombs & the Vatican museum are in completely different places and not connected all. If you're confused, don't worry, because I was too. Anyway, the Sistine Chapel was incredible. Like, awe-inspiring, soaking in the gorgeous, dumbfounding incredible. The first time we went in, it was super crowded with tourists, but nearer to closing time, we got lost in the labryinth of the museum and ended up back there, with next to no one there. I was perfectly content to just sit and drink it all in. I was so giddy that I said silly things like, "I wish this was my bedroom...because then I could open my eyes to this." and "Do you ever think that this, like, isn't wallpaper?" But seriously, it's a little bit hard for me to fathom that someone actually created all that in his mind, and then painted it in a gigantic room so we could all look at it hundreds of years later. And the Rapahel Rooms. Well, those were great too. Everything was just, larger than life. For me, it was so weird to see all those pictures you always see in history books in real life. Newsflash: they actually do exist!
I know this post is getting to be a long Rome gush, but honestly, there were just too many "favorite" things there. & don't even get me started about the food...basically you can eat anything that ends in a vowel and is delicious there. But one last place I loved, is the Trevi Fountain. It's this great big fountain that's all white and super duper cool. Rumor has it if you throw a coin in the fountain you'll come back to Rome one day, so obviously, I had to throw one in.
Because, one day, I'm coming back.
