And we're here! After a 7 hour flight and a lot of lines, we have arrived in Rome! Traveling to Italy has been a dream of my family's for as long as I can remember. We are mostly Italian, with both of my grandfathers being 100%.
Before I start recounting all the wonders (and horrors - yes, horrors) of Italy: cancer sucks, really, really sucks, but it has given our family a whole new outlook on life. You can always say "oh there will always be next year," "I'll do it another time," etc...but the reality is, there might not be a "tomorrow," or "another time," so during Mom's treatments for breast cancer, we started planning our dream vacation. First, it was just going to be my parents going on a dream vacation, but my brother and I quickly stepped in and basically demanded that we go with. So off we go! :)
And here we are! Our flight left from Philadelphia (I'll write about our layover day in Philly another time) left at 6:30pm on Sunday night, and arrived in Italy at 9:00am on Monday. Thank god for movies on the iPad and neck pillows.
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| Constantly checked the screen to see where we were. SO excited when we saw the little airplane hovering over ROME! |
The airport was surprisingly easy to navigate, but very crowded. Once we found the shuttle, we loaded up and anxiously looked out the windows as the bus zig-zagged through Rome to our rented apartment! The bus actually let us off about 8 blocks from our apartment, and many of the sidewalks were cobblestone, so I was glad I packed in a small carry-on and purse.
When we found the apartment, we were met by Paolo, the son-in-law of the woman who owns the apartment we rented from airbnb.com. Paolo spoke very good English and showed us around the apartment - 1 bed, 1 bath, kitchen, and living room. They even had set out some wine and home-baked cakes to welcome us! Our apartment was on the 2nd floor (which really is the 3rd floor in Italy), and overlooked the corner of Via Cola di Rienzo and Via Virgilio, a short 7 blocks from the Vatican.
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| The view looking right from our rental flat. Lots of fun people watching from this window :) |
We unpacked some things quickly, then immediately headed out to see Rome!
As we walked down the street to the Vatican, I couldn't help but notice two things (not sights):
1. The street vendors - they are EVERY WHERE. And so annoying. They just line up right down the middle of the sidewalk with their crappy junk to sell (keychains, sunglasses, totally fake designer purses, etc) which I'm pretty sure they stole off the back of a truck.
2. The smells. One second you're walking past an open restaurant, getting heavenly aromas of their sauces, breads, and pastries, and the next second you pass an alley that smells like garbage and piss. THEN you pass some European tourists that clearly don't shower everyday, nor use deodorant. Ugh, the smells drive me wild - in a good AND bad way.
Once we made it to the Vatican, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so grand and gorgeous. Walking into the square just made me stop, stare, and cry. Yes, I cried. I was in awe at its beauty. You see pictures, and imagine how beautiful it is, but nothing can prepare you for actually seeing it in person.
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| The first view we had upon walking through the columns and seeing the Vatican. |
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| The pictures just do not do it justice. |
We had some time to kill before our free tour at 2:15, so we wandered, took some pictures, and checked out a free museum at the Vatican that had all different old versions of the bible, gospels, and other religious writings. It was pretty cool to see some stuff that dated back to the 4th century B.C. Just crazy old.
We spent a couple of minutes in the Vatican gift shop and then met our tour group. Our guide was a seminarian from the North American Seminary College in Rome, Dan. He was a great tour guide! He walked us around the outside, explained some of the statues and the spire, then we went inside the church.
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| One of the 5 sets of doors to walk into St. Peter's Church. |
As soon as you walk in St. Peter's Church, your jaw drops. And tears fall. No words can describe how epic-ly beautiful it is.The paintings, the statues, the decor, gold, marble... It is beyond grand. The tour was about 2 hours and ended with us in adoration. More tears fell as I sat in front of our Lord, in his most holy of all churches.
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| Standing at the back of the church, just as you walk in the doors. |
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| Pope John Paul II's tomb in the church. |
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| Michaelangelo's Pieta |
After adoration, we went underneath the church to the crypt, where the past popes are buried. How chilling. It is so worth it to take an extra few minutes to check it out if you ever go.
THEN...we went UP. Up...up...up...up through an elevator lift, then 300 more steps spiraling around the dome of the church. Your legs will be cursing you through it all, and you might feel just a tad claustrophobic, but as soon as you reach the very top, step out the door onto the viewpoint, and take in that fresh Rome air, you realize that the incredibly challenging climb you just did was SO WORTH IT. 360 degree view of Rome - so beautiful.
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| Lots of views from the top - but this one was the best :) |
And then...we climbed to the bottom. Our legs were dead, but like I said, it was so worth it. No regrets. Please, please, do this if you ever get to go to Rome.
We bought some rosaries and postcards at the gift shop, then headed back towards the apartment for dinner. We stopped at a place called Caffetteria dei Gracchi on Via dei Gracchi, and I think all of us would agree it was one of the best meals we had during our whole 2 weeks in Rome. We all got different pasta dishes, and they all were to die for. We ordered a bottle of their house red, and it was amazing. But the thing that I could die over, was their tiramisu. It was completely different than any of the tiramisu I've had in America. It was served in a pudding/custard-type way, and had a frozen coffee cake in the center. If I had room in my stomach for more, I would have ordered a second.
| FOOD. !! |
After dinner, we headed back to the apartment, struggled figuring out how the shower, washing machine, and air conditioning worked, and then crashed. Exhaustion had finally set in, and we all slept like babies. Tomorrow, more Roman adventures! :)
Ciao!
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