Today we woke up early at 6:45, partly due to one of our roommates being really loud and also we had to get up to get in line for the Vatican mueseum. We had a short walk to the metro which took us just a few blocks away from the Vatican. On the way we stopped at a local shop to grab a quick breakfast and then get in line. At first we accidentally went to at peters square and were in line for the basilica. The square was incredible, we quickly realized our mistake and made our way around the Vatican walls to get in line for the Vatican mueseum and Sistine chapel. While head in towards the line we were hounded by tour guides telling us we were going the wrong place and to join their tour. It was really annoying and luckily I had read about them beforehand and we ignored all their offers. We got in line around 8:20 and had to wait until 9:00 when the mueseum opened. As usual pat and Sarah were running late and ended up arriving right before 9 and cut everyone to get in line with us.
Once inside we bought our tickets and got an audio tour guide to walk through the museum. The mueseum itself was HUGE! It was loaded with statues, paintings, tapestries, and everything else in between. The highlight of course was the Sistine chapel which is one of michaelangelos famous works. Huge frescos on the ceilings and walls depicting different important religious stories.
After the mueseum we made our way back to Saint Peters square to see the basilica. The basilica itself was enormous! We walked around and admired all the different paintings and sculptures. Although we didn't know it, we had made it to the basilica just in time. They were closing the basilica early because the pope was giving a mass later that day.
After the Vatican we made our way across the city stopping at many different landmarks. First we stopped at a restaurant to refuel. I had the rigatoni pasta which was really good. Next we made our way to a nearby castle which was really interesting.
We also stopped at piazza nova which used to be an old colleseum that now contains four large water fountains.
Our next stop was the pantheon and it's basilica. The pantheon was absolutely massive!
Next we made our way to the tomb of the unknown soldier. This was another massive monument. We climbed up to the top and had great views of the city and the colleseum.
The colleseum was our next stop! The line was super short. We also signed up for the English tour which was only 5 euros extra. The tour itself however was not the best. Our guide spoke English but it was not very clear, but the amazing view of the colleseum more than made up for her lack of guide skills.
After the colleseum we stopped at the nearby roman forum and palatine hill. These were right next to the colleseum and were basically the ruins of the city. It was really interesting to see how the ruins looked without being rebuilt/restored much.
At this point we were exhausted and our feet hurt from all the walking so we stopped at a close restaurant. I ate spaghetti carbonara which was pretty good. After dinner we hopped on the metro back to our hostel and rested the rest of the night and booked some more things for the final days our trip.
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