Rome Part I

As soon as we arrived in Rome, I felt like I was in a movie. The city- with its tiny cars, and century-old buildings- was so charming! We stayed in Rome for three nights. We got there Friday night, hotel-less- cuz we're just that spontaneous ;) so we drove around looking for one. Since it was Easter weekend, hotels were booked up and the first couple we tried were full. We found one online that was available, but we were hesitant to book it without seeing it, so we drove over to it. 

We got there and were a little taken back to find that after pressing a button to alert a receptionist, a Skype phone call started ringing and the hotel owner answered the line and we spoke to him over the computer! It was hilarious! But I guess smart on his part. He told us we could go look at the room before we decided if we wanted to book it. It was nothing special, but it was perfect for us. The room had a queen bed, a twin bed, and a bathroom. Plus, it was in a pretty good location in Vatican City, which was convenient since almost everything was within walking distance, so we decided to stay.

The City

Just your average intersection in Italy...
stoplights and sculptures.

The Vatican

The next day we walked over to the Vatican. The line to get in to St. Peter's Basillica was huge and by the time we arrived, it was closing in a couple of hours! We talked to a few girls about our age in line who said they had been waiting for a couple hours already. We knew we wouldn't make it in time, so waiting in line would be pointless...but our devious sides knew all hope was not lost! 

We found a tour guide who we purchased a tour of the Vatican from, who said he would try to help us get to the front of the line. He just walked us to the front, had us cut in, and told people in line we were with a tour...but they were not having it. One Asain lady kept yelling "Keep the line", but her accent made it sound like "Peep zee line" (naturally, that line has become a popular phrase between Rusty, Kirsten, and I). She threatened to call the police, so we hopped out of that spot and found a different spot to more casually sneak into...don't forget, unless we cut, we would have come all the way to Rome, and would have never gotten to see St. Peter's Basilica :/ Lucky for us, I think the second people we cut in front of knew we were cutting, but didn't really care. But, once we were in, we tried to avoid that angry Asian lady. 

After St. Peter's Basilica we met up with our tour group to go through the Vatican Museum. There was another huge line to get in, but I am so glad we bought a tour because we were able to skip it! As I walked through, I couldn't help but think of the Angels and Demons book, and secret societies, and what really goes on in the Catholic church haha. The Vatican was like a whole different world...I guess it makes sense that it actually is its own country within Italy. I loved seeing all of the famous artwork and hearing the stories about each piece. The Creation of Adam painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was amazing! Of course, we snuck some pictures of it!  

St. Peter's Basilica

The Vatican Museum

Good thing there were hundreds of street vendors selling umbrellas...
but of course the rain stopped once we got into the museum haha

Trevi Fountain

Seeing the Trevi Fountain especially made me feel like I was in a movie. It was beautiful! When no one was looking, I jumped in it!...Just kidding! But, I really wanted to. Who can say they went in the Trevi Fountain?! There were a couple of guards standing around it though, so I figured it wasn't a good idea. But just getting to throw a penny in and make a wish was exciting enough for me! 

Apparently I was so excited I couldn't keep my eyes open haha 

The rest of our day was filled with good food and good times (I mean, how could it not- we're in Italy?!)...we got back to our hotel late at night and prepared for our early morning the next day!