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. 

Colossal Colosseum

Rome day 1! As I said before, today is our "go to everything in walking distance" day and was it ever the perfect day for that! The temperature was in the 60s! Cannot get much better than that :) We didn't even have to wear our jackets. 

Breakfast was awesome! There was toast, cereal, juice, coffee, tea, croissants, Nutella, jam and yogurt! It does not get much better than that for a European breakfast :)

We started out the day by going to Sma, a local grocery store to buy ingredients for sandwiches, as well as chips and chocolate wafers (can't forget the chocolate)! We then went back to the hotel and decided we were hungry for lunch then so we ate, and was it ever good. Italian salami is great. I wish I could take some home with me but it had to be refrigerated. 

After lunch we began our journey to attempt to get into the Roman Forum. Little did we know that we were by the exit the whole time. 

Sooner than later we wander off to the Colosseum because it was quite obvious where the entrance to that was. We bought an entrance ticket to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatinum all for 12 euros. What a steal! The first thing we went into was the Colosseum and it was immaculate! Incredible! Old! Awesome! WOW! It is hard to believe that it was built many many many years ago and it is still standing! 

After touring the inside of the Colosseum, we made our way to this great place to catch a snapshot of it from the outside! We also found the Arch of Constantine along the way to the Roman Forum. 

From there we entered the Roman Forum. This place was crazy old and cool because of the architecture. We even got to witness someone taking pictures at a dig sight and other places that were being dug up. All of this happens in the off tourist season, which was a very cool experience!

I got this cool shot by somehow perfectly lining up the sky and the sun with the pillars on the structure! I feel very professional ha.

After completing the Colosseum and Roman Forum (I don't think that we made it to the Palatinum in retrospect) we wandered around town more and then stopped at a local cafe to get coffee and cappuccino. We then went to the grocery store because we wanted some wine and I wanted some bread to eat and returned to our hotel. From there we chilled at the hotel for a bit and I took a nap. We then left at night to go to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. I made two wishes because I had found a 1 cent piece on the ground earlier in the day and I kept it just for a wish! 

 This is the Pantheon at night. The building was a temple to the gods and was a HUGE one for sure. The inside was very detailed and had some people buried there and lots of artwork. There is a dome in the ceiling that opened up to the sky, which I found to be pretty extraordinary. Outside of the building there is a fountain which was also very beautiful and carved out of stone. The talent that the Romans had truly amazes me.

After the Pantheon we wander further and got to see the Piazza Nuova. The beauty of the city definitely does not stop when the sun goes down. 

Finally it was time for dinner and we ventured off and found a local pizzeria that has been there since 1888. It was called Ricci and it was on a dead end road. We decided it was a good place to go because it was hopping and there were locals everywhere. I ordered a sausage and mushroom pizza. When I was halfway through the pizza I realized that there was no sauce on it. It was still a very good pizza and was quite moist!

After the pizzeria we returned home to our beds at the hotel to sleep a good night's rest!

Holy Cannoli

We woke up at about 9:30 am to start our last day in Venice. We were greeted by breakfast, consisting of orange juice, coffee, croissants, and a rolls. It was really good and fresh, only the best from Italy!

We had to bring our luggage to the other hotel, because that was where the luggage room was. So we crossed the Rialto Bridge and got lost, again, but eventually we found the place. From there we crossed another larger bridge that had locks on it to "show the love" of each other.

We then wandered around the islands, and made it off of the main one to other side ones. Again, many cool shots and picture perfect locations on bridges. We made it to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, which is a gorgeous building! It also offered a beautiful panorama view of the area, with the water in the background. I love this shot!

After we took a few pictures we walked back and stopped at a glass shop that sold Murano glass, an island in Venice. We all bought wine stoppers, for our parents, and then continued on our journey to no where in specific. 

We continued our day by finding really cool picture-taking spots. We also returned to the St. Mark's Square to see it during the day. From there we found the Bridge of Sighs, the only covered bridge in Venice.

We were getting hungry so we decided to head on over to another island to find a restaurant that I have researched online. The restaurant was called Trattona Alle Due Gonolette and it was THE best food ever for only 15 euros! When we walked in, it was definitely a local joint because everyone there was workers that were on their lunch break and we got the stare down, even after we sat down. The place was a family restaurant and only open for lunch hour! We started off with bread and these cracker like things, and when they came to take our order, there was no menu. Just 3 choices for the day: noodles and meat sauce, noodles and sauce with seafood or soup. I got the noodles and meat sauce and did it ever hit the spot! We were pretty content after that and full but wait, there was more! Next was the "hearty second course" as it said online, and we all ordered grilled chicken (a half a breast and then about a half of a half more) and a salad, which I had to add olive oil and salt to. After that we were full to the brim, stuffed and had no room for more. We had wine and water throughout the meal, and ended with a small cup of espresso. Strong espresso if I might say so myself!

On the previous day, Wednesday, we had spotted another local joint that sold tiles that were hand painted and I was wavering on purchasing one. Eventually I decided that I could not live without one and I bought one. After that, we stopped at a bakery and got cannolis, which I managed to get ALL of the powdered sugar over me.

When it was getting close to 4 we decided it was time to head back to the hotel to get our luggage and make our way to the grocery store to buy snacks for the plane since we were too full to eat another meal. I bought an apple and an orange. We then proceeded to sit on a random dock because we had an hour to burn before our water bus came, so I ate my apple, which was the crispiest and best apple I have ever had! It was a Mele apple, one which I hope they have in America. 

We got on the bus and left Venice, until next time, and got the airport with a little time to burn. We ended up boarding the plane a good 30 minutes earlier than expected and we had to take a bus to get to the plane. We boarded and we were off to Rome! We landed about 25 minutes early, enough time to catch an earlier shuttle to the Termini Station, which was just a few blocks from our hotel. 

Finding the hotel was an adventure in and of itself. It was about 12 midnight when we got to the station, we didn't have a map and the maps that were posted around the city did not have street names labeled. All that we had were directions to get there, but the streets themselves didn't have markings on them telling you what was what! We were all getting very frustrated and I was ready to give up and just sleep on the streets. We asked a taxi driver how to get to the plaza and that was easy but from there, we had about 8 options of roads to chose, which were not labeled. We found a cafe that was open who told us how to get there. We felt like total idiots once we got there because it was actually an easy place to find but we made it A LOT more complicated than it needed to be. 

We got to the hotel at about 12:30 and we were exhausted and ready for bed because Friday was our day to see everything in walking distance, so we definitely needed our rest!

Ciao Bella!

On Wednesday morning we had to wake up at 6:30 in the morning! The roosters practically woke us up. We had to catch a 10:25 flight to Venice, Italy. We got ready and as we were walking to the bus stop to get back to airport, we saw a bunch of buses and bus drivers at a cafe. We figured that since they were all there, that is has to be good! We ordered coffee and a doughnut and it was one of the best doughnuts I have ever had! So fresh and yum in my tum tum!

We caught the bus and did our "airport routine" of dilly dallying until the boarding time came along. We got on our flight and we were soon in the air. I snapped this picture from the window of Barcelona and it's coast. The water so blue that I wanted to jump in and go for a swim!

When we arrived in Venice, we had to take a water bus to the location of the hotel, near the Rialto Bridge. The other options to get to island was to take a water taxi (more expensive) or a taxi, but I am not sure how far that took you because there were NO cars on Venice at all! What a relief that was :) This is a picture of the Rialto Bridge from the water bus, and an Italian flag flowing freely in the wind. Under that is a shot of the water bus; the suitcases went in the middle and then the front of the water bus also had more seating.

One  complaint that I did have about Venice was the weather, but that was totally out of our control. It was foggy and not the warmest, but we still managed to have regardless! 

We got off of our water bus and crossed over the Rialto Bridge, for the first of many times. As we were walking along the water in search of our hotel, we passed many restaurants that wanted to talk to you and tell you their daily specials and have a look at their menu. They kept of saying Ciao Bella to Rachael and I and that was their way to be nice to get our attention.. It didn't work. After wandering for about 20 minutes, we figured out that we had passed our hotel from the start and completely over looked it. When we checked in we checked in through Skype because the owners have another hotel that they run on the other side of the river. The rooms were awesome! And the showers were AMERICAN! :) YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HOLD THE SHOWER HEAD! IT WAS HEAVEN! There was also a towel warmer, which I burnt my hand on because I had no idea what it was.

After we were all settled in the hotel, we were hungry so we began to go farther away from the Rialto Bridge (more expensive) and find little hometown joints. We found a place that served pizza, but it was a weird time to eat so we ended up being the only ones in there! After we ate, we decided to wander the city. The next few pictures are just cool ones that I snapped throughout the day.

These are the gondolas.. that we ended up not riding. They were EVERYWHERE it became overwhelming. Upon arriving to Venice I was dead set on riding on a gondola before leaving but I soon came to the realization that they were overpriced and not worth it. If i went back in the future, I would consider going on them, but that vacation wasn't the right setting for it.

At night we traveled to St. Mark's square, which includes St. Mark's Basilica, Torre dell'Orologio (Clock Tower) and Doges Palace. This is one of Italy's most famous squares and is quite the beaut at night!

After snapping a few pictures, we went to go find a restaurant to eat... and we landed on a jackpot! They served tortellini! Rachael and I were stoked and we split a plate. We then went home after wandering some more (wandering became our specialty). We had a great night in Venice and were excited for what the next day would bring us!