I Was a Tourist, It Was Great!

Here come all of the pictures. I'm going to post them then talk a little about them at the end. I just want to get them out there.

 These three photos were taken at the capitol in Rome.

 This little bugger tried to eat me while I was getting a picture taken on the roof of the capitol and the photographer (a local I assume) saved me. Thank goodness.The view was fantastic though. Worth the struggle.

Here, I am at the beautiful and historical Roman Colosseum. Below are two photos from the breathtaking Vatican Church (St. Peter's Basilica).

Now that you've seen them and kind of figured out what pictures were where, I'll give you the run-down of my day. I woke up about six. I have no idea why my body woke me up then so don't try and quiz me on it. I woke up, ate breakfast, and hung out a little bit at the hostel. About nine o'clock AM here, I packed my bag and got ready to go for the day. I was going to pack a prepared lunch then forgot it in the communal fridge. So that was a huge bummer. I was livid when I remembered I forgot it. I left the hostel and walked about a block to the metro. The ticket for all day was six euros and I figured I would be using it a lot. So I got the all day one. Sure enough I got my money's worth. I had to ride it six times; two of which I had to change metros in the metro and take another path. That was interesting. BUT NOW I FEEL LIKE  PRO! If you could drop me anywhere in a metro and tell me which stop I needed to take, I could do it. I challenge you.

My first stop was the Colosseum. Come to find out it was the Marathon of Rome. Which now I feel like an idiot. Because the roads were blocked off and this was really the only day I could tour. Plus I was oblivious to the signs all over Rome. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get in. Instead I walked the only way that the road wasn't blocked off and it led me to the capitol of Rome. It was amazing. I toured the museum for free, looked at old landmarks, almost gotten eaten by a seagull. You know. The usual. Tourists were taking pictures of them and I was thinking, "Geez, come to the West Coast if you want to see seagulls. They breed like rabbits, I swear!"

Since there was only one way to go to the capitol there was really only one way to get back so I went back around. I got lucky because between the racers and the crowds, I managed to find my way to the front of the Colosseum. I waited in line a half hour tops then I was inside! I guess I had beaten the crowds. The place was unreal. It just oozed history and old... Everything was so old. And, I know I'm a boy, but beautiful. I think that's appropriate enough to say!

Then I got on the metro when I was finished there and realized I was super hungry.I went back the hostel since my pass let me use the metro all day, and had the lunch I had intended to bring.

I got back on the metro at 2 PM and left for the Vatican. I read online that I should visit at 2 pm because that's after all the tour groups. Turns out that's the smartest piece of touring advice I've received. THANK YOU RANDOM LADY ON TRIP ADVISOR!

We got there and had to wait a total of a half hour in line to get in. Once again, quick lines for these types of sites. So if you ever randomly find yourself in Rome like I did, you know what to do if you want to see what I saw. And if circumstances are perfect like mine were... Scratch that. It was all probably luck. Don't listen to me! Don't quote me on those things, quote the random lady!

I went into the church. The pictures really don't do it justice. I will proudly admit I teared up at how beautiful it was. The intricate detail... Oh my goodness. There's really nothing I can say to accurately describe it, nothing will do it justice. I will leave it at that.

I took the metro back, had the best calzone for dinner at a place across the street from my hostel called Solo Pizza. Delicious. Then I came home, looked through my pictures and passed out. I've calculated how much I've walked and its about sixty/seventy miles in a week. Insane. I've walked everywhere.

Now I'm flying back to Spain so my program can start. Yay, for Santander!

Saludos.