...as promised...

Sorry, i'm a day late in posting...I ran out of internet time last night! Anyway, here it is...our Rome update!

so, 4 days in and what have we done?, you ask. Well, obviously,

Day 1: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Venezia, Altar of the Nation (Il Vittoriano Monument, I think)
So we walked down Via Cavour (lots of souvenir shops) to get to Via dei Fori Imperiali (or the road by the Roman Forum). We checked out the Monument first, which had great views of the city, and interesting statues/murals, but the Museum wasn't very interesting...well, to us anyway, since it was all about the Italian Military, and it was all in Italian, so we didn't really understand too much of it. Piazza Venezia was right in front of it, but it wasn't so much a square as it was a traffic circle (triangle?). Anyway, after taking a brief rest, we checked out the Piazza del Campidoglio, which was supposed to be designed by Michelangelo and also supposedly the heart of Rome (or ancient Rome?..I'll have to check my guide book). The square was nice, surrounded by 3 buildings, a church and 2 museums across from each other, connected underground (supposedly). We were planning to go since it was supposed to be free (last Sunday of the month), but it wasn't, and so we didn't. Afterwards, we walked down into the Roman forum, where it was super crowded (as compared to when we passed by it earlier in the day, when it was practically empty). Lots of tour groups! Plus it was a very hot day, so we were soon tired, thirsty, and exhausted. After numerous stops under some shade, we finally made it across, with some help from my guidebook, which did a decent job of trying to explain what the ruins used to be. Then we were faced with the Colosseum. As soon as we got there, there were these tour people trying to get us to go on the tour with them, for an extra 8 euros each...but of course, we get to jump the line. That seems to be the common theme for these people, as we find out later on. Anyway, neither one of us wanted to wait in line, so we took it, and got mostly talking and very little touring. Which was fine with me, since there wasn't a whole heck of a lot to see there other than the building itself, and like I said, it was very hot! Less walking was good! Although, at the end, our tour guide said that we could take a free tour of the Roman Forum with them! Which would've been nice (cause it would've made the price worth it), but we didn't want to walk up there again. Anyway, after that we went back to the hostel...at this point I was super tired from not getting any sleep the night before. I actually took a nap before dinner, and then went back to sleep afterwards!

Day 2: Vatican City, Spanish Steps
After a full night sleep, we left around 8:15am to buy some water and Metro tickets to go to Vatican City. I wanted to do the museum first, but when we got there, it was a very long line-up, going all the way around the wall to the entrance to St. Peter's Square! The line moved pretty quick, though, so it wasn't long before we got in. The first part was mostly Egyptian, Greek and/or Roman relics/sculptures...which we went through pretty quick. The Raffaello rooms were impressive, though...mostly past papal apartments decorated by Raphael and his students. And, of course, the Sistine Chapel. Definitely highly recommended. After a quick trip to the Pinacoteca (picture gallery), we made our way back around the wall to St. Peter's. The square itself was huge, supposedly with the same dimensions as the Colosseum. The inside was just as impressive, mostly because of its size. Then, we climbed over 320 steps to get to the top of the dome, where we could see inside the church and outside (for a lot more stairs!). Great views, though...pretty much the highest point in Rome (that we've climbed, anyway). After checking out the souvenir shops along the way (where Ariane bought "unofficial" soccer jerseys), we took the Metro to the Spanish Steps...mostly cause my sister was complaining that I was boring her at nights (since I slept most of the night before!). We had dinner on the way home at a fairly nice, somewhat touristy restaurant...it was a bit too rich for me, though, and I ended up taking most of it back home.

Day 3: Borghese Gallery, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain & Spanish Steps (again)
We were lucky enough to be able to book a time to see the Borghese Gallery at the last minute, so that was the first thing we did this morning. We only had a maximum of 2 hours, and we spent most of it on the first level, checking out all the Bernini sculptures and Greek/Roman mythology-themed rooms. Very nice, I have to say the Apollo chasing Daphne was my favourite. There was also a work by Rafael up in the Pinacoteca that they were in the middle of restoring. Anyway, after an adventure at the post office (I couldn't remember what "stamps" were in italian!), we had a quick rest at the hostel, then walked back to see the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and again the Spanish Steps. Mostly because Ariane wanted to fit in a bit of shopping. She originally wanted to go back to near the Vatican, but it was just too far! We didn't really go into any of the designer shops along Via Condotti, though...we were afraid they were going to snub us!

Day 4: Via Appia Antica (Circus Maximus, Terme di Caracalla, Villa Quintili) and Santa Maria Maggiore
It rained early this morning, but around 9am it was sunny again, so we went to Termini Station to buy our tickets for the next day's trip to Florence. We also wanted to get on the Archeobus, which takes us outside Rome's city walls to see catacombs. Well, the bus we wanted was sold out, so we had to wait 2 hours for the next one...during which time it rained again...a lot! Good thing we were waiting by a bus shelter! On the bus, though we find out that the catacombs were closed!! Not fair! Still, we ended up stopping at Villa Quintili, which was supposed to be one of the largest Villas in ancient Rome. Our tickets we're also good for the Terme di Caracalla, which were Roman baths, so we stopped there too! That part didn't take long, though, and we ended up walking to Circus Maximus (old Roman racecourse) for quick pictures before catching the bus back to Termini Station. After a quick rest/late lunch, we headed back out to see Santa Maria Maggiore, on the way to the Colosseum where I wanted to purchase a book on ancient Roman monuments. Did some shopping for souvenirs on the way back, which then brings us to now...where we're sitting at a laundry + internet point, waiting for our laundry to finish. And now, I've got just under 2min left on my internet time, so bye for now!