When in Rome....

June 7th night and 8th:

So after leaving Florence we head off to Rome, for 3 nights!! Yay, this is the longest that we've stayed in one city! I was thrilled because we are now halfway through this trip, and three days in one place means we actually can achieve some relaxation and rest!

So as with all the other campground hostels we have stayed at, this hostel was really nice as well. This time we had a bungalow which came with a fridge, stove, sink, and a patio deck!  They even had an infiniti pool which was great! 

Our first night in I was just ready to get some rest and chill out, so I didn't head into the actual city and pretty much just hung out on site and layed by the pool and then later in the evening we got together because all of our bungalows were on the same strip so we just had a "block party" out on our patios, which was a blast. Think 40 young adults, alcohol, music, and you can imagine what fun we had, and how loud we were across the campsite. 

The next day was an early start, and a long day. We were scheduled for a walking tour of the city and then heading to Vatican City for a tour of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica.

It was amazing to see the sights I have heard about for so many years and to see it in front of me was so surreal. I was so excited to see Rome, and fell in love by the end of my 3 days here.

We were basically taken through the streets from plaza to plaza: started off at the Spanish Steps, and wandered around to the Neptune Fountain which represents the four main rivers in various regions of the world. We then meandered around towards the beauty: The Trevi Fountain, it is so beautiful in person, after seeing it in numerous movies and hearing about it, I now understand why. Seeing the Trevi fountain as we came around the corner was one of those moments where you heard everyone say "oooooh" and "ahhhh".  From there we went to Piazza Navona, and on to the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Forum.

The Colosseum

The Spanish Steps

The Trevi Fountain

Had to throw my coin in, to make sure I returned back!  ;)

The Pantheon

The Neptune Fountain, in Piazza Navona

After our walking tour we went on to the Vatican and were taken on a guides tour through. It was awesome to hear the stories and history behind it. Vatican City is the one of the smallest countries in the world, only those who are part of the church can reside within this city, it is blocked off from all others.

We also saw Michaelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel which was amazing. The story behind how he managed to be the artist who completed this masterpiece was awesome, it turns out he wasn't really much of a painter initially and was considered to be a sculptor until he did this piece, which then became one of his most famous works of art. 

Part of the Ceiling inside the Sistine Chapel

 

The last sight for the day is St Peters Basilica, which was another beautiful church located within the Vatican City. This church, is where the pope come out to when he does, as well as where the chambers are for the smoke when a new pope is elected.

This is where the pope stands when he comes and presides over the people in the church

Tonight, after returning back to the hostel, we hung out by the pool with some of the new folks who were joining us for the second half of the tour, and got to know them. We drank some wine, and just joked and laughed together, before heading over to the Black and White party they were having at this hostel (apparently that was a popular theme with the hostels...lol).....

More to come from Rome.....this was just Day 1