Rome Italy, Part 3

We started this morning very early and took the metro to Vatican city.  

Stop #1

St. Peter's Square

We got into St. Peter's around 7:20 in the morning, and it was gorgeous!  There were hardly any people there, and it was great to take it all in.  

Stop #2

St. Peter's Basilica Dome Climb

550 stairs....a tiring way to start off the day!  However, it was so fun--I loved seeing the inside of the basilica from the top.  The passages got narrower and we finally reached the top.  The views were AMAZING.  It felt like we were on top of Rome.  We had the top mostly to ourselves and we had such a nice time together.  There is nothing like being on top of a dome. 

Stop #3

Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel

We really wanted to get to the museum before the crowds got too bad.  We walked a little longer in the basilica, and than ran to the museum.  Luckily, we had our online reservations so we were able to bypass the huge long line.  If you ever go, GET YOUR RESERVATION BEFORE HAND.  Seriously, the lines are crazy.  We ran through the museum to get to the chapel before it got too crowded.  Unfortunately, it still was, but it was fine.  The chapel was so different than I thought!  The room was very dark and a little on the small side.  The art, however, was incredible.  We listened to another Rick Steve's audio tour and we took it all in.  At first, it seemed a little overwhelming, but in little pieces were able to really enjoy it.  

Since we had skipped so much of the museum, we ended up going through it all again.  It was okay, but there were SO many people!  The Raphael Room was cool---I loved seeing "The School of Athens" in real life.  

Stop #4 

St. Peter's Basilica

By the time we got back to the basilica, I was already really tired and quite sick of all the crowds.  Something I didn't expect in Europe was how many people PUSH.  Man, that was frustrating.  Anyway, the basilica was awesome.  We listened to a tour, and it was fun to learn more about the building. I loved learning more about the Catholic church.  

For future travelers:

we totally recommend getting to the Basilica @ 7 a.m. and doing the tour of the basilica then, doing the dome climb afterwards and then getting to the museum around 8:30 and leaving after that.  Unless you really really love crowds. :)

Stop #5 

The Borghese Gardens

These were really fun!  Lots of green space, trees and pathways.  We rented a row boat and rowed in the lake with ducks and turtles.  It was really fun.  It was nice to relax for a bit here.

Stop #6

Dinner @ a nice Italian Restaurant

WE found a cute restaurant near the Pantheon.  We found a lot of good food around her and the Trevi fountain.  This was our 'nice' restaurant.  They set the mood for us, flowers, white table cloth etc.  We embarrassed ourselves by ordering the 'assorted cheese' for an appetizer, which we later found it is used for after the meal to cleanse the palate.  Ha--our waiter thought we were crazy as he brought us 4 huge cheese chunks.  But the rest of our meal was delicious!

Stop #7

Pantheon + Church of Mary Magdalene at Night

This area was gorgeous at night!  The church was beautiful! It had art from Michelangelo and Bernini.  The organ was playing and it was lovely.  We ate gelato and made a slow walk home.  Rome was truly delightful.  We were so lucky to have such great weather, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

At a Pinocchio store---for some reason we totally forgot he was Italian. 

Part 1/ Part 2

Rome Part 2

We really enjoyed eating breakfast in Rome.  We ate at a sweet cafe near our hotel.  They were also so surprised we didn't drink coffee, and so would give us steamy, frothy milk.  :)

Stop #1 The Pantheon

This was my favorite ancient structure in Rome.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  We did another audio tour here, and I loved learning about the building.  We got there really early in the morning, and so we enjoyed having it to ourselves.  

Rome's streets are very busy! :)

Random church courtyard

Stop #2 walk to Trevi Fountain

Rome is truly beautiful.  We enjoyed a fun piazza, and some more beautiful churches.  The fountain was as pretty as I had ever imagined.  Crowded though!

Stop #3 Spanish Steps

These were pretty cool-- we were pretty tired by the time we got there.  (All the hills!) Rome is filled with street vendors trying to get you to buy their stuff.  In all the romantic places, there are rose sellers.  Mr. H and I were sitting on the steps, and a man came up and offered to take our picture and said I could hold all his flowers.  Naively, I said "Great!" and we took this picture.  However, he made us pay up!  Ha...we didn't get tricked into buying anymore roses!  (we also bought a camera charger here...thanks to Mr. H for making that happen!)

two naive tourists right there!

Stop #4 Appian Way

This was my highlight of Rome!  We took a bus out to this small town.  We accidentally missed our stop, and so we had to walk on a very busy, narrow street to get back to the town.  I thought I was going to die!  Anyway, we rented bikes and made our way to... 

Stop #5 San Callisto Catacombs

These were AWESOME!  So eerie, but packed with so many neat messages.  Our tour guide was great.  I loved all the Christian symbolism.  

We continued on the Appian way (which is one of the earliest and longest roads ever).  It was amazing.  The countryside was gorgeous. It was drizzling, and oh so romantic.  Some parts of the road had the original stones and it was so fun to ride together.  I would totally recommend this if you have time!  There were neat ruins on the sides of the road, and we almost made it to the aqueducts!

Olive trees, sheep and their shepherd = Italian perfection

look closely to see the aqueducts!

Stop #7 Rome at Night

Rome is stunning at night.  My goodness, I feel like it becomes magical.  We walked to the river, and through the shopping district and ate dinner while a man played an accordion and serenaded us.  It was delightful.  We made our way to the Trevi fountain, and it was so great.  We got our first gelato of the trip and it was great.