Rome (can't think of a good title)

So after a week in Greece, Will headed back to Prague and Jenny and I headed over to Rome to spend five days. We stayed at The Beehive apartment called the Acacia...very very nice and highly recommended, also cheap (60 euros a night for a massive room, sharing bathroom, internet, and a kitchen). They have a hostel part too but it was all booked up.

St. Peter's

While I felt pretty good about getting a feel for Greece (at least the touristy side of it), Rome is an absolute monster to tackle. Photo-worthy churches on every corner, Vatican City, St. Peter's, the Pantheon, the Colosseum and countless museums top the list.

The first full day in Rome we decided to wake up "early" and go to the Vatican Museum. I say "early" because on the one hand it was 8am, earlier than we'd woken up all vacation (except to catch flights) but apparently it wasn't early enough. By the time we arrived at the museum entrance, the line was unbelievably long. (Even though it was off-season, the last Sunday of each month is free entrance).

The Trio-Turned-Duo inside St. Peter's

As Lara told us also, Italians (who were on some school break and touring their own city) don't line up, they clump up and each clump then lines up. This was the fattest and longest line (or "queue", to be British) I've ever seen...and I remember lining up for opening night of Batman Returns when I was 7. So we decided to head over to St. Peter's to spend the morning, walked to the top of the dome, which was exhausting but totally worth it.

View from the top of the dome

Strap me up and send me in

We eventually got into the Vatican Museum, deciding to wake up at 6:30 to beat the crowd. Turns out this time there wasn't a significant line because everyone had to pay. No pictures, but I have to say the Sistine Chapel is probably the most stunning piece of art I've ever seen, even taking for granted the fact that Michelangelo did it UPSIDE DOWN.

Jenny reading from the trusty Lonely Planet guide at the Roman Forum

Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, we did it all. Walking everywhere (because we're cheap) gave us a great feel for the city. It was also nice to see the lives of students there, visiting John Cabot (running into fellow BCers even) and seeing Lara and Christine's Real World-esque apartment. Many thanks to Lara for taking us out and showing us around. Even though we grossly overpaid for paella (yes, we ate paella in Rome...but before you yell at me it was our last night and we went Italian all the way before that!), the sangria was pretty good.

Trevi Fountain

Yes, I tossed a coin in (5 euro cents)

Resting on the Spanish Steps

I guess I'll end here with another quick blurb on food: pastas in general were pretty good, but I feel like you could get similar or better pastas back home in SF (for a similar price or cheaper). Of course I didn't try upscale restaurants, so that's a different story. Pizza was different, refreshingly so. Cheap wine, expensive water...balance each other out. The gelato (recommendation: Old Bridge Gelateria by Vatican City) was amazing...I'm definitely going to miss that, and they were open late too.

Enjoying a pizza-sandwich thing

That's it for now, heading home on Tuesday for some more R&R with the family. It will have been about six and a half months since I last step foot in the United States. I can't wait to use money that fits in my wallet and to look the correct direction when crossing the street, not to mention eat a giant In-n-Out burger...thank god it's getting close to dinner.

"Ciao",
Chu