After a couple failed attempts the day before and some extensive planning, Josh and I finally had to come to terms with the complicated fact of walking to the Vatican city, which was about an hour from our hotel. Our tour was at 7:45am, which meant we had to be there by 7:30, which also meant we had to leave our hotel at 6:15 to leave room for “getting lost time.” By the grace of God, we made it to the Vatican in less than an hour, including stopping at a little shop to get some quick food. How? No traffic, no people, and lots and lots of planning out how we were going to get there. Everyone complains about roads in Pittsburgh, but trust me, Rome is way worse!
We got to our meeting place with our tour guide “Guido.” He was an eccentric 50 something who had a private tour license and actually does pre-excavation archeological work. Our first stop however would be the most incredible; the Sistene Chapel. I never, in my lifetime, seen artwork like Michaelangelo’s chapel. The paintings seem to pop out everywhere and all have so much detail. Josh and I did nothing but stare up at the paintings while we listened to Guido in our headphones. Once again, this was breathtaking.
After spending about 45 minutes in the Chapel, we began the rest of our tour of the Vatican. It was an art/architectural overload. With paintings on every ceiling and busts and statues on every corner, it was tough to take it all in. This isn’t to say it wasn’t incredible, but after walking for almost 4 ½ hours, we were wore out and just overloaded with priceless artifacts. Most of the people on our tour began to shut down about about 2 hours as we were bombarded with information and artwork that we would never be able to remember. After what seemed to be a lifetime in the Vatican Museum, we finally made our way to St. Peter’s Basilica.
There’s nothing quite like walking into this massive building. Decorated to the “T,” the basilica was marvelous and breathtaking. This is going to sound a little naïve and non-scholarly, but it must be said, “It was massive!” Guido said it was about 205 yards long. I’m not sure if that is accurate or not, but it was quite big. We got to see the supposed area where Peter is buried, along with a mass that was taking place inside the basilica.
After we left, Josh and I were absolutely exhausted. We had been doing nothing but walking and we were tired and hungry. We stopped at the first place that had food. Our server’s were the first people we had that seemed to actually welcome us and make us feel like we were people and not just money. We enjoyed our lunch and a overstayed sit-down and made our way back to our hotel, even though we got lost, went in a circle, and spent almost 2 hours trying to get back.
Once we got back we took a nap. We tried to go to the Steeler bar, but once again got lost. I have never, in my entire life, got more lost than I have here. I’m not sure if it is the map, or if I’m just really tired, but Josh and I seem to get lost everywhere we go, and it got frustrating. After looking for almost an hour, and accidentally running into the Spanish steps (FINALLY!), we gave up and went to Burger King. Now I know what you’re thinking, but you don’t understand our end. We were exhausted, frustrated, hungry, and spaghetti/pizza’d out, and all we wanted was a burger. Our server was less than helpful. She was quite rude and when we asked for ketchup (and y’all know me), she gave us three packets and said, “Okay, bye.” We just looked at each other and basically said (for lack of better words) that we hate Rome.
To be honest, Josh and I haven’t had a good experience here. The sights have been more than fantastic and we couldn’t get enough of them. The city itself, however, is a different story. And maybe we just haven’t found a good place, but I have yet to have an incredible Italian meal. I would rather go to Bucca di Beppo’s than eat here. It doesn’t taste like “real Italian” food (It tastes like watered down junk). Not only is everything here more complicated than it has to be, most of the people here are rude. On one hand, they are Italians, yes I get that, but to me, I don’t care what “race” of people you are, it doesn’t justify your actions to be a jerk. Maybe it’s just because Josh and I are American. Or maybe it’s because we’re exhausted. Or maybe, there is something more to it.
I’m not quite sure at this time, but what I am sure of, is that we’re looking forward to getting out of the city and going to Pompei/Vesuvius for the day.
