The second day of our trip we saw the Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Arch of Titus, Mamertine Prison, the Roman Forum, and we went to the Vatican City and passed through the Vatican Museum, or Musei Vaticani, and into the Sistine Chapel. There are a few different routes inside the museum that you could take, all leading to the chapel. We went through the Gallery of Maps, and several different hallways before finally entering the Sistine Chapel. We couldn't take pictures inside, or even speak loudly. It was very quiet. The paintings took many years to restore, I don't remember how many as Monica spewed out facts left and right. They left a square untouched in the right hand upper corner, just so that you could see the difference before and after the restoration. When we found the square we were shocked at how black and dirty it was! After that we went to St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square. They have three dead popes on display. The church was massive, and so beautiful! When you exit the church, you enter into the square immediately. On the left you could see where the Pope resides and the window that he makes his speeches out of, and in the center of the square is a large Egyptian Obelisk. On the building all the way around they had statues, it was really grand. After that, we were let loose for a while to go have lunch so Larisa and I ran off and found a really cute restaurant where we were able to have lunch outside on the street and watch passerby's and just the bustle of life. I got spaghetti (of course I had to try it) and Larisa got a margarita pizza. Of course the food was delicious. Afterwards we walked through the streets and ordered some gelato, and boy was THAT an experience! My hands were full with my GoPro and phone and money and by the time I was able to put it all into my purse, my gelato was melting all over my hands. I was wearing a red dress and was afraid to bring it closer to eat it, knowing it would get all over my clothes. We ended up running to find a bathroom, and the gelato was just dripping everywhere. I'm sure we looked really silly. I had several workers point me to a fountain, knowing that the line for the bathroom would be long. So we ran to the fountain and I had to wash my hands and my legs (as the gelato did end up getting everywhere). It was actually kind of hilarious.
The entrance to the Vatican Museum.
Our tickets to get inside
Walking through the museum.
Outside of St. Peter's Basilica.
St. Peter's Square
Our wonderful tour guide Sergio and I
Larisa's margarita pizza
Getting some gelato!!
My poor gelato. Coconut and chocolate (or as they say cioccolato)
It was really good while it lasted.
The Roman Forum
Imagining the glory days of the Colosseum
Our GRAND hotel
The hallway leading to the dining area.
Hotel lobby.
The hotel we stayed at was called the Parco Dei Principi. (Pronounced Par-Koh Day Prin-Chee-Pee)
Our dinner menu
Caprese salad with basil
This day and the next would be my favorite days out of our entire trip. We got see many of the places and historical sites that were on my bucket list. We saw so many different things that day, that I couldn't even remember half of them! Three days in Rome was definitely not enough to be able to take in all of the sights. There were still so many more places that we wanted to see, but there was just not enough time. Little did I know what Rome would do to my poor heart.... Sigh.
