Finishing Rome

Today was our second and last day in Rome. For those of you planning your own trips, it is TOTALLY possible to “do” Rome in 2 days, and if you have limitless energy and you plan ahead, I think it would be possible to do it in 1. Don't get me wrong, you would definitely want to spend more time here if at all possible, but all the guide books say you can't, and I just wanted to say you CAN. Take THAT, Rick Steves.

Today we got up at 7:30, grabbed breakfast on the way to the Metro and were at the Spanish Steps before 9.



We walked up and down them, took photos, checked out the Cathedral at the top, and then didn't really see anything else to do, so we headed to Trevi Fountain which was BEAUTIFUL. Seriously, it was amazing. I want one in my backyard.



Following that, we went to the Pantheon, which is the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built (according to Kim's guide book which I just read).



It is now a Basilica or something, which was sort of disappointing, but that's where Rapahel's (yes, the ninja turtle) body is.

After that we walked across the Tiber River to Vatican City, where we walked along booths selling trinkets, had mediocre pizza at an awful restaurant, and then headed to the Vatican. We got super lucky because there was NO LINE to get in, and then with our student Ids we got in for 8 euro instead of 15!

Apparently the Vatican museum is HUGE, way bigger than any other museum we've been in on this trip. We saw lots of awesome things, including old religious art, sculpture and even modern art (there were a few Dalis, which sort of surprised us) and of course the Sistine Chapel, which was by far the highlight of the museum. There was no photography allowed, not even without flash, and a group of guys were going around scolding picture-takers and making them delete it off their cameras. What a frustrating job! The artwork on the chapel was amazing, including the trim painted to look like marble carvings. Or was it actually trimmed with marble carvings? Kim and I spent a good deal of time staring at the ceiling, trying to figure that out so when YOU go to the Sistine Chapel, YOU can tell ME.

After the Chapel we'd had enough museum, so we headed over to St. Peter's Basilica, the biggest church in Italy. The church was spectacular (and massive). Michaelangelo's Pieta, a marble statue of Mary holding Jesus's body after he was crucified, is in the church, and was beautiful. I overheard a tour guide saying that Michelangelo's carving on La Pieta exhibits a lot more confidence than most artists' carvings because of how deep he carved the folds in the fabric; most artists would be afraid to make the piece so fragile.




Kim and I decided to climb to the top of St. Peter's, which was certainly an ordeal. For 7 euro they will take you up the first 200 stairs by elevator, then you have to climb more than 300. For 5 euro, you climb all the stairs. (There is no 6 euro “elevator up, stairs down” option!) Being the thrifty travelers we are, and because we want calves chiseled from marble, we climbed all the stairs. We got to go in the dome of the church and look down on the alter & the tourists, and then we got to climb to the (almost) top of one of the highest points of the cathedral, and look down on the whole city. The climb was terrifying, at one point the walls sloped at almost a 45 degree angle, and at another a spiral staircase was so tiny there wasn't even a center column, just a ROPE. Kim thinks it was worth it, and if there had been showers and cots at the top it might have been. Or if I end up with calves chiseled from marble . . .

We had planned to maybe see some more sights after the St. Peter's, but Kim and I were pretty dead, so we just bought some postcards and left. We bought some groceries on the way home and had salami and cheese sandwiches + a bottle of wine for dinner for the third day in a row. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do Rome in 2 days with 200 euro.