(Throwback) Day 15, 16, 17: Italy Trip

Finally getting back to my trip to Rome and Venice...

Day 15
...Cody and I woke up after a good nights rest in Hotel California ready to explore Rome. It was Friday morning. The plan was to check out Vatican City today and then Saturday we would go to the Colosseum. Before we left Hotel California we had to take advantage of the free breakfast. Once I was full on bread, nutella, yogurt, and croissants, I grabbed some more food to pack for lunch. Vatican City was a long distance away so we took a bus. The bus was packed to the brim with tourists. From here on out we knew we would always be running into long lines and crowded places. We started our tour of the city by going into St. Peter's Basilica. Beautiful man-made structure.

Next stop was the Vatican museum, which leads you through the Sistine Chapel. Everything was stunning, however, since there is countless statues, paintings, and other art pieces to see everything begins to blend together. Your eyes become accustomed to the surroundings and lose a touch of interest. Don't get me wrong though. Everything was still stunning.

We ended up running into Chelsea and Courtney, the two friends we planned to go everywhere with, in the Sistine Chapel. Not the best place to talk. There were guards walking around, constantly telling everyone "Silenzio!" Cody and I told them we would meet them outside of the museum. We finished walking through the museum and headed outside to eat lunch on some steps. We waited about 2 hours and still no sign of the girls. At this point we realized we were in Rome and didn't want to spend too much time waiting. I thought groups of two made it easier to walk around anyway so we left to see more of Rome. We walked just about everywhere, following our tourist map I got from a hotel last night when we were searching for a place to stay. It was about 90 degrees for the whole weekend. Around 6:00pm we started to get hungry. It was hard deciding which pizza place would be the best out of the hundreds we saw. Finally, we chose one and ordered a pepperoni pizza. It wasn't anything special. I would have been happier with a Cottage Inn delivery pizza. Once it started to get later in the day we began looking for places to stay. We went into an internet cafe (had to pay 50 cents for 15 min) and searched for hostels. We found one and wrote down the address/directions. 21 euro for the night. A lot cheaper than the hotel from the night before. There were 3 bunk beds in the room. Two young university students like Cody and I that were from Britain were in one bunk. Really cool guys. In the other was a guy from Poland who seemed to always be in a dazed state. The very first night we stayed there we met some new friends. A girl from Indiana, a girl from Melbourne, Australia, and a guy from New York. They invited Cody and I to go to another hostel called The Yellow Hostel. We walked into the building. Took a left and went through a door into a bar and then headed down some stairs into a basement. Blaring music, people from all over the world, flashing lights, fog, dancing, etc...It was like something I have never experienced. I didn't know places like this existed. A real gem. I couldn't stop from smiling. We stayed for awhile and I had a great time.

Common nude statue

Day 16
Woke up from a good sleep in our bunk beds. I still had some fruit and bread that I grabbed from Hotel California. Made for a light breakfast. Cody and I went upstairs to the room that has wifi. It was kind of a meeting room because all of the other people who were staying in the hostel also went there for the internet connection. We met a guy from Alaska who was currently on a 6 year trip around the world. He was into year 4 and had so many stories to tell us. I could have sat and listened to him all day. At 10:00am we left the hostel and headed to the Colosseum. Really long lines. I bought tickets for both of us online beforehand so we got to pass the lines and head straight in.

Once we finished our tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roma Forum, we were suppose to meet the Australian girl at the Capuchin Crypt which contains the skeletal remains of 3,700 bodies. Unfortunately it was closed for the day due to a power outage. So instead we walked around with her and toured more of the city. We went to another restaurant, this time to try some lasagna. We picked the perfect place. A 4 course meal with a drink for 10 euro. The restaurant was ran by an old Italian couple that fit the exact image I always imagined. I wanted to upset the old lady so she would chase me with a broom yelling Italian things. First course was Lasagna, then potatoes, then gnocchi, and finished off with lemon sorbet. Our time in Rome was coming to an end. I made sure to get gelato one more time before we headed back to the hostel. A couple things I almost forgot...the annual Europe Motorcycle Tour was going on so there were Harleys and guys walking around in black leather everywhere. Also on Saturday there was a gay pride celebration.

Day 17
Woke up at 5:55 to catch my train to Venice after going to sleep at 2am. I don't recommend it. Venice has a feel of its own. Narrow streets that are only made for walking. Canals separating the city into many islands with bridges holding everything together. At times it made me feel trapped.

I bought three cannoli (I only meant to buy one). I ate 2 while searching for the perfect pizza place since I didn't have any luck in Rome. I found a few places that offered a deep dish style with one standing out among the rest. I tried to buy it but they would only accept cash. This is where the last cannoli really helped me out. Chelsea and Courtney arrived two hours before I was leaving. Chelsea had euros so she bought me a slice of pizza in exchange for the cannoli.

Trip complete.