Vatican City & Spanish Steps

We started off our final day in Rome with the delicious breakfast! We then made our way to the Piazza Santa Maria, which was right up the street from our hotel. We over looked this place because we did see it every day, but the building is massive, the Santa Maria Maggiorie, and is quite the piece of work.

 We then continued to the metro station, just a few blocks away, to take to the Vatican City. It was in a long walking distance, but we decided to get a metro pass for the day because it was only 6 euros we thought that was a good investment. The metro was crowded and you had to hang on to the railings that were posted throughout the train. Rachael and I gripped our purses to prevent pickpocket-ing and luckily we didn't have any troubles. We got off at the station that was closest to the Vatican City and walked about 4 blocks to get to the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica. 

 What a magnificent place it was! The attention to detail was impressive in and of itself and the size was, clearly, extremely big! We got in the line to go through security to get into the Basilica and entrance was free, so we continued on in. The interior was just as amazing as the exterior. We got to see the Pieta, Michelangelo's famous sculpture. We also got to see plenty of tombs and other famous artwork, along with sculptures!

 We continued filling through the massive Basilica and we soon got to the altar. *SIDE NOTE* There was a mass at 4:30 that was open to the public that we did not attend. Other members of our group from Winona DID attend the service and got to see the Pope! What a cool experience that would have been!

We then went to a different side building, still attached to the Basilica and it turned out to be a musseum that you had to pay to get into. We did not feel it was necessary to see the artifacts inside because we were planning on going to the Vatican museum later in the day. In the hallway to the museum, there was a plaque of stone that listed all of the previous Popes.

After completing our rounds at the Basilica we ventured off to find the Vatican Museum. Luckily we had planned ahead and read online that if you brought your student ID you could get in for half price, so we only had to pay 8 euros to see the museum. We first went into a courtyard that had this gigantic spinning ball. It is called the "Sphere Within Sphere" and it symbolizes open interpretation of the Earth. 

When we were in the courtyard, we randomly ran into Liz, Ruth Ann and Katie. We had plans to meet up with them around 3 later that day for coffee, but we decided that since we had found each other, we would stick together for the rest of the tour. We then went to another courtyard that had an awesome view of the top of the Basilica. Rome has to be known for their views, because they are breathtaking whether it be of a famous building of just of the city! 

Eventually we got inside the museum and there were different styles of art everywhere we looked. There was tapestry, old pieces from the past, contemporary, modern, a lot of Catholic stories and paintings to describe what happened. I stumbled upon this painting by Vincent van Goh. I remember learning about him in elementary school and he cut off his ear and sent it in the mail to his girlfriend. What a character!

The ceilings were also magnificent throughout the museum. I practically got a neck cramp from looking up all of the time!

Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel, but sadly  no pictures were allowed. The place was magnificent and it was crazy to believe that Michelangelo had painted the ceiling laying down. I had overheard some of my friends say that he was not intrigued by the project and it was not his cup of tea to paint, but man was we ever good!  There were guards throughout that would say "Silence Please" in about 5 different languages and they would walk around to ensure nobody is taking pictures. Of course there are people who are disrespectful and snapping shots, even after being caught and told not to. I was really tempted to go up to them and tell them to put the camera away, but I didn't because I didn't feel it was my place to do something like that. The Sistine Chapel is most famous for the image of the two hands, of God and Adam, touching.

After the Sistine Chapel, we went to a local coffee shop to take a little break because it was down pouring. I got gelato there, coffee flavored and something else that was like caramel and Nutella mixed. It was really good and I wish I could have some more! From there we parted ways with Liz and Katie and Ruth Ann and we went back to the Metro to go home for some rest time and to eat a real lunch.. sandwiches!

Eventually we got enough energy to leave again and go to the Spanish Steps. We took the Metro from the station nearest to us to the station that was about 20 feet from the bottom of the Spain Steps. The Spanish Steps are the widest steps in Europe. We climbed all 137 steps to the top and took a few pictures from the top. It had such a nice view of the city and I wish we would've gone during the day as well to see the views. We then took an elevator back down to the Metro. (We randomly found this elevator, it was more for the handicapped but we were lazy and exhausted from all of the touring that we decided we could go for a ride on it as well.)

We then took the Metro to a different stop. This time, for dinner! We got off at the Piazza de Repubblica and there was a building that was shaped in a U but did not connect in the middle. I don't remember what it was exactly, but it definitely was a sight to see at night.

From there we walked about 3 blocks to the restaurant that Rachael found online. It was said to be a really good place to go that has great service and reasonably price. I ordered a pasta that is from Rome, and it was noodles, a cheese that was grated, oil and black pepper. It was pretty good but it reminded me of something that I make at home. After dinner we returned to the Metro to go home and pack everything up because we left the next morning. Our time in Rome was winding down to the end.