Roma

6/27/12

Rome cannot be conquered in two days. It is impossible. Hostel Beautiful is conveniently close to the train station, yet a far walk to the sites of Rome.

In need of some austerity measures I went to the supermarket yesterday and bought food. If I am to continue on with this trip then I need to save money at every possible moment.

As I cooked my pasta in the kitchen I met two girls from Belgium and a Mexican fellow who is now a software engineer in Sweden. Florence, Olivia, and Pablo invited me to join them at 7:30 to go to the Spanish Steps with their group, drink beer, and watch the sunset.

Spanish Steps

Outside the hostel I met the rest of our group. Two Aussies, named Corey and Tom. A German girl named Sarah from Stuttgart and Eric from Canada. Together we set off for the steps. I was glad I was able to see them last night because there was lots more to do on my trip. As the sun was setting half of our group had signed up for a pub crawl. I abstained from it, but went to the first pub with the group.

New friends in Rome: (L to R) Some French guy, Florence, Sarah, Me, Olivia, Pablo, and Tom

I ended up getting way too hosed while we were there. The people that had paid for the crawl were feeding me drinks an by the time Florence, Olivia, and Pablo wanted to leave I was swaying and stumbling out of the door.

We made it back before midnight and that seemed like enough time to get some sleep and wake up at 7 to see the Vatican.

My alarm woke me up, and I proceeded to turn it off and go back to sleep for another 5 hours. At noon I came to my senses and crawled out of bed. Although I may not see the Holy City today, I'll get in some of the other sites.

The Colosseum was closest to the hostel and in turn was my starting point for sightseeing today. As luck may have it I bumped into Sarah and Eric from the night before. Appearing in a condition much worse than my own, we bought tickets to enter the Colosseum.

The inside really was not anything special. It was mostly the underlying structure that remained. I mean it was great seeing a classic structure like that but I almost preferred to have not paid to see it. Afterwards we walked over to the Palantine hill and Roman Forum. Those places were cool, but once again ruins.

Me, Eric, and Sarah inside of the Colosseum

By this time Eric had seen enough and parted ways to catch up on some much needed sleep. Sarah and I were determined to see more sights before calling it a day.

First we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. That is an amazing piece of work to behold. It was very crowded, but we managed to take some photos and toss some coins in.

Trevi Fountain

Next we walked to the nearby Parthenon. Since it was a church, admission was free. Gotta love free stuff. I saw Raphael's grave along with the tombs of the first and second kings of Italy. Seeing the dome of the Parthenon is impressive. It's hard to believe that for the longest time it was the largest dome ever built without the use of reinforced steel.

Raphael's Tomb

The brutal sun and it's unrelenting heat had sapped the energy out of both of us. Time to head back home. The remaining members of our groups decided to meet back up at 7:30 to eat dinner and watch the Spain/Portugal soccer match.

The hostel I'm staying in is pretty dumpy. One nice thing is that the other bed in my room is unoccupied, thus giving me a room all to myself for my stay.

6/28/12

Whoever said Rome couldn't be conquered in two days obviously hasn't tried it.

After dinner last night the group of travelers assembled once more and went to a pub to watch the Spain/Portugal game. The place was overpriced which seems to be the theme among European bars.

After Spain won in a shootout, I went home earlier than the rest of the group. My determination to see the Vatican today was too strong.

This morning I met Eric and Sarah at the train station at 9 to begin our adventure. Since today was my last day in Rome, I had checked out and stashed my bag behind the counter of the hostel.

We rode the metro to the Vatican and by the time we arrived it was scorching hot. More on the Vatican tomorrow. I have just hopped on my overnight train to Milan and am absolutely exhausted.

6/29/12

The overnight train to Milan probably caused permanent nerve damage to part of my neck. Cramped quarters and the perpetual shift and sway of the coach really did a number on me. It feels like I did not sleep a wink for the entire journey yet I recall a dream that I had, so I must have slept.

My luxurious quarters in the overnight sleeper train

In my dream I had contacted my Mother via Skype. I proceeded to fill her in on the details when she surprises me with good news! Our long lost and assumed dead cat Snowball had returned!!! The story in my dream is quite funny because Snowy has been MIA for a solid nine or ten years. How is this possible I ask? Well it turns out, my mom explains, that Snowball ran away because of an ear infection and has been in deteriorating health ever since. Now that she is found, my Mother spared no expense in nursing her back to health. Imagine an all white cat with a white bandage wrapped around its kitty skull, a kitty neckbrace, and what could pass for kitty casts on its front paws. Of course my dream is highly unlikely principally because the amount of time she was gone was equal to the lifetime of an average house car. Also, Sean Grant's dad witnessed a coyote devouring a white furry animal on a jog the morning Snowball disappeared. Connecting the dots on that mystery was a beginner's challenge.

Back to yesterday and my last day in Rome. Of course it was another scorcher in the city. When Sarah, Eric, and I reached our destination west of the Tiber, it was feeling like another toasty day in Rome.

Dress code is strict in the holiest city in the world. Though Mecca is probably stricter. That day we all had to rock pants to enter St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Thinking ahead I wore my REI pants that also unzipped into shorts.

St. Pete's

Crowds were flocking to St. Peter's by the thousands and the queue was growing long by the second. Of course if you wished not to wait in line you could always buy a quick pass from one of the many hustlers hawking tickets in your face. We chose to wait instead and it ended up only being a 20 minute wait, maybe less.

The inside of St. Peter's could be described as humble at best. Grandiose was nonexistent and the Catholics who built the city must have been on a tight budget at the time. Not really though. It was the most lavish display of religious elegance and zeal I have ever seen. Still, it was a sight to behold.

Afterwards we walked over to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Walking through those galleries were my favorite part of Rome. The place housed Egyptian artifacts and works of art by ever major artist imaginable. Somewhere I read that it was the largest and longest art gallery in the world, covering seven hectares. We walked through most of it when hunger hit all of our stomachs. We skipped the Raphael apartments and modern art gallery and went straight to the Sistine Chapel.

Grizzly Adams

The Thinker

Michelangelo's masterpiece was great but I guess my mind was expecting something else. Maybe it was the shoulder to shoulder audience that ruined it for me.

We went and ate in the Vatican Pizzeria. Holy pizza! Wanting to see the section of the museum we skipped over, I dragged Sarah and Eric back through the entire place to see the Raphael frescoes. I enjoyed those more so than the Sistine Chapel. Then we walked through the Sistine Chapel, again. Not too many people can say they walked through the Vatican Museum twice in one day, but I can.

Raphael's School of Athens

 After our trip to the Holy City, we walked over to the Piazza Navona. We took some photos of the famous fountain there and ate some much deserved gelato. Then we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and met up with Sarah's cousin and her boyfriend. We walked around some more and decided to meet back up at 7:30 for dinner.

Piazza Navona

I found an internet point and used it to check my email and financial situation. Luckily, the paragon rep authorized my housing allowance transfer into my bank account. Looks like I'll be able to get by for the rest of the trip. Also, I signed up for a canyoning trip in Interlaken for tomorrow. Cannot wait for that.

The five of us ate dinner at a restaurant where they served a three course meal for 13 euro.It was okay, but very filling. They broadcast the game outside while we ate. The Germans among us were disappointed to see their team go down 2-0 in the first half in part due to some excellent shots by Balotelli. That guy's mohawk grosses me out.

I waked with the group to the Colosseum where they were going to watch the rest of the match. Then I turned right around and went to the train station. My time in Rome was fun. I was very glad to have met the people I did and travel with them while I could. Almost forgot, outside the Vatican I bumped into Dan, Leslie, Pat and Phil, haha. Europe keeps getting smaller and smaller!

I'm glad I moved on yesterday. Any more time in Rome would drive me crazy. Definitely saw the main highlights I wanted to see. Looking forward to cooler climate in Switzerland and northern Europe.