Rome, Italy — Gerald J Fisher

Hey Cool People!

Day 72 Wednesday, July 29th - Today we started of the day by getting ready to fly from Istanbul to Rome. Got our airport shuttle from our hostel in Istanbul at 7:25 am and I was soooo tired; didn't get to sleep till about 1:30 am the night before. When we got to the airport, we checked our bags and grabbed a bite to eat before making our way through security and to our gate. While waiting for our flight, we found out our gate had been changed, so we ran across the terminal to our new gate only to find out our flight was now delayed 50 minutes. A little bit later, the gate was changed again and the flight was delayed another 20 more minutes. Luckily, it was a direct flight and we were in no rush to be anywhere ... but Rome! Lydia and Jessica watched the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" on Lydia's I-Pad in the airport. It brought them back to our time in Santorini and the Greek islands.

It finally became time to board and we made it on our plane. The flight was about 2 hours and 50 minutes. We got a nice meal and drink on the plane, which was a nice surprise. I, of course, took advantage of the free drink and got myself a Vodka Sprite.

When we finally made it to Rome, we grabbed a shuttle to our hostel. We were staying at Camping Roma, a campsite right outside the city center. However, us three were staying in a bungalow (camper), so we had our own bathroom and AIR-CON, a must have with this heat!!!!! It wasn't too bad of accomodations, but, looking back, I wish we had stayed closer to the city center.

That night we stayed at the campground. We just relaxed because it was a long day of traveling. We got dinner at the campground restaurant and enjoyed a bottle of wine. That night we grabbed a couple bottles of wine from the supermarket and hung out playing games and talking to some people at the bungalow across the way. That night, I had bought a bottle of wine from the bar as well and I think it had gone bad because it tasted funky and we all got a little sick after drinking it.

Day 73 Thursday, July 30th - Today none of us were feeling the greatest. We had a pretty relaxed morning. I helped Jess do some washing and grabbed some lunch at the campground. It wasn't until late afternoon that we made our way into Romes city center. We walked over to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, took a couple pictures and wandered around a bit until we found a restaurant to sit down and have dinner at. After dinner, we walked over to the bus stop, stopping first to have some DELICIOUS gelato. When we got back to the campground, we hung around our bungalow and went to bed a pretty early.

Day 74 Friday, July 31st - Today started early. We were going to try to join a walking tour of Rome that started a the Spanish Steps at 10 am, but we just missed it, so we decided to do a little more exploring ourselves. We first made our way to the Fountain of Trevi. The Fountain was under renovation, which was a bit disappointing, but still impressive. After that, we walked over to the Colosseum. We waited in line about 35 minutes and got in. WARNING! SMALL RANT: We were hassled by "Skip the Line" tour guides that said we would have to wait 2-3 hours in line for tickets if we didn't pay to join their guided tour of the Colosseum that skipped the line. We said no multiple times and the guy can kiss ass since we only waited 35 minutes to get in. Anyway, the Colosseum was impressive. It was very interesting to see and learn some of the history of the ancient structure.

After we finished our self guided tour of the Colosseum, we stopped to get some lunch. The pasta here is AMAZING!!!! The pasta is so fresh and perfectly cooked! After lunch, we made our way over to the Roman Fora and Palatino, ancient ruins of Romes old city!

The Roman Fora and Palatino were incredible!!! I was walking around talking pictures and reading the information markers like a kid in a candy store. I found it all fascinating. Lydia and Jess were tired fro the heat and the sun; they spent most of the time sitting in the shade as I walked around. This was a pretty incredible place, so I was happy that Lydia and Jess were patient enough to wait as I went exploring around the ruins.

After we left the ruins, we made are way back across Rome to the bus stop, but first stopping for Gelato. That night we just got dinner at the hostel and just hung out again.

Day 75 Saturday, August 1st - Today started early! We got on the bus to the city center at 8 am and got in line for the Vatican Museum right away. The Vatican Museum didn't open until 9 am, so we waited around for awhile. We finally made it into the museum a little after 10 am. It was pretty incredible to see the amount of artifacts that where housed at the Vatican, however, it was extremely busy and I felt like I was a sheep being herded around. I didn't feel like I had the time I would have liked to really appreciate what was around me. We eventually made it to the Sistine Chapel. It was awe-inspiring!!!! Just to be there and seeing the art that you learn about in textbooks was something amazing!!! We spend some time appreciating what was around us before taking a shortcut down a halfway straight to St. Peter's Basilica. If we went the way we were suppose to go, we would have existed the museum and had to get back in a line to enter the Basilica, waiting about another 1-2 hours. When we got to the Basilica, we decided to climb the 551 steps to the very top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. It was tough climb. When we were pretty close to the top, the walls we slanted and the steps were very narrow. The view was absolutely AMZAZING!!! After we got back down, we spent some time inside the Basilica! There is no picture that can show the magnitude of the place. It was massive! We made our way to the cript below to see some of the tombs fo the pops and significant world figures. After St Peter's Basilica, we stopped at the Vatican Post office to write a couple postcard, then made our way to a small restaurant for some lunch. One thing I found funny was it was this classic Italian restaurant, but was playing American Pop Music.

After lunch, we made our way back to the campground for a nap! That night I went out with a local I met who took me around to some of the most amazing views of the city. The first was this street that when you first turned on it, St. Peter's Basilica appeared to be very close, but as you drove closer, it appear to be getting further way. It was pretty cool! We stopped for a beer then went to another spot across the city! The next spot was this key whole that looked through a garden and perfectly framed St. Peter's. I wish I had a working phone could have taken a picture to show ya'll. The final stop was at a park near by that overlooked the whole city!!!! It showed everything, the Colosseum, the Vatican, everything. To see everything lit up and right in front of you was jaw dropping!!! This was an incredible night and hard to describe just how breathtaking the views were.

Rome was absolutely amazing! There is so much beauty and history in such a small place. I wish we had more time. I also wish it wasn't so hot because it probably kept us from roaming around the streets more. Apparently, everywhere we have been, Vienna, Munich, Venice, Athens, Izmir, Turkey, Rome have all been unseasonable hotter than normal. Anyway, Rome was, again, AMAZING! I am having so much fun and still can't believe that I am here!

Here are few pictures from my adventures in Rome:

Gelato at Old Bridge after a day of exploring! Got nutella and chocolatechip

Climbed 551 steps to the top of St. Peter's Dome

On top of St. Peter's. The square is right beyond the statues

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