Roma, Day Two

Rome has been an incredibly fun city to visit, especially for the food. Today alone, Laura and I managed to eat panini, pizza, and gelato. Oh, it was so wonderful. The sandwich was especially good because we ate it at 2:30 after not having anything all morning and standing in a huge line at Saint Peter's Basilica. Laura got some sort of proschiutto and I got breaded chicken with mozzarella and tomatoes. Laura even splurged and got a Pepsi.

Random famous works of art were found all through the Basilica. This is the one that Michelangelo did when he was twenty-three years old.


Disappointment clouded the afternoon - apparently the Vatican doesn't want people to come visit its museum, because they closed at three thirty. Three thirty! We hung around despondently for awhile until it set in that we really couldn't see the Sistine Chapel. That was the big bummer of the day.

But . . . we did see the Colosseum! Check it out! The audio tour on the bus used the earbuds which hurt my ears, but was very informative. Did you know . . . the Colosseum used to be twenty stories high? True fact. Note the horse-drawn carriage. There weren't any fences around it so you could go pose and everything.

Like Laura! Mr. Senerius would be so proud. Tap! Ancient Roman ruins! Gladitorii romanis! Cave canis!



The Pantheon was definitely a fun visit. It's very old looking and column-y from the outside, but the inside was very golden and colorful. We sat right outside on some nice fountain steps and ate . . .

Italian gelato! We kept passing different ice cream stores all day and I was so incredibly tempted, but I managed to stave off my longings until after dinner. We were allowed to choose three different flavors, so I picked tiramisu, oriental cream, and pistachio. Laura got dark chocolate, coffee, and mint chocolate chip. It was, I think, the best ice cream of my life.


Tomorrow we have to get up at an ungodly hour to get to Florence by eight something. I paid dearly and bought a DVD at this internet cafe so I can transfer all of my pictures. Even with the enormous camera card that I have, I am a picture taking fool so I keep overloading the card. It will be nice to have a fresh start for Florence and Barcelona.