Step by step

We should have brought a pedometer.....

07/06/2011

We probably walked 15+ miles today.........fol.

We started today with some Italian breakfast pastries. They were delicious and relatively cheap for Europe. We then stopped by the Piazza Navona to get our Roma Passes. We were determined not to walk to the Vatican where we were going to take a tour of today. So we took the 492 bus to the north of the Vatican and walked around until tour time. Our tour guide Stefan was extremely knowledgeable and made the day a great success for us.

Our tour started at 11am and ended at around 4:30 pm. During that time, we traveled through a majority of the Vatican museums, the Raphael Rooms, and the Sistine Chapel. We enjoyed our time in the Vatican Museums, despite the crowds and miserable heat, but by far our favorite was the Sistine Chapel. It was really montebello. All the walls are covered in these amazing frescoes and it is hard to believe the time and dedication that Michelangelo put into his artwork, which happened to be his first commissioned painting. After the Sistine Chapel, we went to St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica, the biggest church in the world, is huge. We walked in and sun shined through the windows as if God himself was shining a divine light into it. It was amazing to just be a small speck in the basilica. We then traveled to St. Peter's Square. The circular plaza is very warm and welcoming. After taking a brief break, we decided to go balls out and trek to the top of St. Peter's Cupola. We took the easy way out and took the elevator halfway up, but still had to climb the 320 steps to the top. Having walked all day throughout the museums and being drenched with sweat from the heat of non-air conditioned rooms, we never thought we could make it.

"Ain't about how fast we get there, Ain't about what's waiting on the other side......It's the climb." lol
This is seriously how we felt. Despite the burning calves, shortness of breath, dehydration, and possible death by slipping on the stairs, we all felt that the climb up the stairs was actually the highlight of this event. haha. Don't get us wrong, the view was amazing and we saw a 360 view of Roma, but there's nothing quite like enduring spiraling steep steps up an old dome.

We finally left the area and visited Castel Sant'Angelo, the place where the Pope used to seek refuge in during wars OR more importantly where Angels and Demons takes place!!! haha Not realizing where we really were, we ended up walking across the Tiber River and walking all the way back to our hotel (the walk we had so adamantly protested in the morning). Elayna and Alex ate a slice of pizza from a random shop, which ended up being delicious (choosing with your eyes is incredibly helpful =]). We got back at like 7pm and decided to take a 2 hour break.

Not being able to take any metro at 9pm, we decided to walk even more today and made our way to the Piazza di Spagna. We ate at Alla Rampa around the corner from the Spanish Steps. This dinner was vastly better than last night's and we have to give tripadvisor the credit for this one. (Alex = lobster tagiolini, Elayna=pasta shells with seafood, Jen=veal stuffed ravioli, all=fried zucchini flowers (tempura? haha) ) After finishing our meals, we walked over to the Spanish Steps. The steps are quite impressive and quite comfortable to sit on. Considering it was 11pm, the area was still quite popular and we could imagine spending hours sitting and eating on the steps with friends.

We left the Steps on our way to the Trevi Fountain. None of us really had any expectations for the Trevi Fountain, but it was by far the most impressive fountain we have all ever seen. We all threw a penny into the fountain and made our respective wishes. The Trevi Fountain is definitely a must see at night and it will still be just as busy as during the day. Imagine Caesar's Palace only 20499401993x better.

We finally arrived back to our hotel room and we are completely exhausted. Let's hope we make it through all our plans for tomorrow.

Buon Notte!

Our first Italian breakfast pastries. =]