June 6th
I managed to somehow book us Premium seats for dirt cheap for our train ride into Rome which was nice. We had so much more leg room than we did on the Eurostar from London to Paris. We even got a free snack and drink! Who wouldn't want cream cookies and orange juice for breakfast on a train to Rome? The orange juice was a lot sweeter and smoother than what I'm used to; it was still yummy though. We all dozed on the train ride since we were so tired.
We arrived in Rome around 10am and had a straight shot to our hostel. The actual hostel was still really hard to find though because it was in a giant apartment/condo complex. We managed to pass the building once and then found it walking back towards the train station and buzzing in. It was a small hostel with maybe four rooms with eight to ten beds in each. The rooms were a lot bigger than the other hostel rooms so far for the amount of beds. The hostel was also a lot homier and had other furniture even! We all took quick showers (bless the owner's heart since she wanted to clean and we disrupted her) before heading off to lunch. We ate outdoors at a cute little Italian place (go figure, Italian food in Rome, who would have thunk it) around the corner from our hostel.
we went to the Colosseum first which was a lot bigger than I expected. I wish I could have seen it before so much of it was missing and when it was actually in use. We walked around Palantine hill and the Roman Forum afterwards. It amazed me how they've managed to restore so many things, though there are more things that are just rubble or just a last standing pillar than full buildings. It's nearly impossible to imagine what things used to look like since so much of it is gone.
June 7th
We ate breakfast in the cute little back yard courtyard of the hostel. We got these weird doughnut croissants. They were good and sweet like a doughnut but shaped and looked like a croissant. Yummy but strange. Once we were all ready we hopped on the metro which was the most crowded thing I've ever been on. It's nearly all standing room and you get really friendly with everyone quickly.
We got off at the Ottaviano stop and got in line to go into the Vatican museum. There were tons of vendors selling tickets along the line for $28 (student) and $35 (adult) to skip the line. Honestly they were very obnoxious since they would not leave us alone. It also amazed me how marked up the prices were since it was $8 (student) and $16 (adult) at the door. We did have to wait in line for 2 hours though.
We spent most of the day in the museum since we didn't get in until 12:45. There were lots of ancient Greek/Roman sculptures. I was honestly expecting more Christian art. We went to the Sistine chapel and that actually takes forever to get to. You are essentially herded in a long line through tons of hallways and rooms. That's where all the Christian art was! There were tons of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, etc. that were religious in one way or another. My favorite thing was the intricately detailed ceilings, both the paintings and the woodwork.
We got amazing gelato on our way back to the hostel. The waiter was pretty creepy though and kept calling us his new American girlfriends. After that Karlee left us to go hang out with her friend Martina for the night. Emily and I found a supermarket and then just relaxed together for the evening.
June 8th
From there we walked to the Trevi fountain which was also fenced off and being renovated. We were still able to get some pictures through the fence and managed to throw a coin over our shoulder to ensure our return to Rome. It took me three tries with the fence but whatever! We walked by what's left of the Adrian temple, which is just some pillars but they were astonishingly tall. We went to the Pantheon next, but didn't go inside. There was a giant crowd in front of the doorway so we just stayed far away and admired in from afar. We went through the Palazzo Madame and Piazza Navona too.