Rome, Italy Day 11: Friday

Oh my dear, my friends (: I have had one incredible weekend that most definitely ended with a bang in one of the largest airports in the world, Rome. But to begin our weekend adventure I must certainly start from the beginning. We flew down late on Thursday, then made it to our hostel after a brief delay in an incredibly sketch part of the Rome airport and ATM's that would not read in english. But we finally got some euros and paid the taxi driver who gave us a very small tour of the city on the way in. Our first sight, unfortunately lol, was of a bottle red-headed hooker wearing only leopard print undies and some sort of shirt. But the next sight made up for it, for when we rounded the corner we got our first glimpse of Roma. The colosseum rose out of the ground like a huge, majestic beast. Im not gonna lie, Id always kind of considered it over-rated, something that is seen so often and talked about that it really wasnt that special anymore; boy was I WRONG. This structure was enough to leave me speechless, lost in its ancient beauty and immense size. From then on Rome captured me. The next day, me Kara, Tim, and Andrew went to the Vatican City. Despite what it stands for, it truly is one of the most impressive places I've ever seen in my life. St. Peter's Basilica was so glorious, with its life-life sculptures and intricate mosaics everywhere. The three dead popes in a glass case on display was most certainly creepy, though it still didn't take away from how extraordinary the rest of the interior was. We had a guided tour through the basilica and ended up using the same tour guide in the Vatican Museum. She led us through the rooms, one by one, explaining the frescoes on the walls. I'm not kidding, each room we walked into held a new wonder, leaving my mouth open in awe, wondering how in the world these artists were able to project their ability to the world in this matter. The colors were vibrant, the scenes so intricate that you could look for days upon days and not see it all. And we weren't even to the most famous one yet: the Sistine Chapel. That one held me captive as well, with Michelangelo's ten different scenes along the ceiling and massive murals covering the walls. I could not look away desperate to see as much as I could. The one comical thing, though, was that, with it being a utilized chapel by the catholic church, the guards were constantly shushing people, haha. I bet they just loved their jobs, eh?

Upon leaving there we ended up roaming (hehe) the rest of the Vatican (which really only consisted of along street in front of the Basilica that completed the "keyhole" image that it was built as. Sorry if that sounds confusing, maybe you can see what i mean in the picture). We walked, talked and ate some dang good gelato. I also discovered, quite to my surprise I assure you, that Italia public restrooms are co-ed. Yep. I ran out of there, lol. Then we wandered along, coming to the bridge in front of the Castel di St. Angelo. The view from there was absolutely incredible, with a perfect view of the Vatican. Peter's Basilica was in the perfect place, with Michelangelo's dome (he designed the dome resting atop the basilica) dominating the landscape. It was truly the perfect sight to end a pretty long day.

So currently I can't find any pictures of this. I have them somewhere. Sorry!