Day 198 - Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, Pantheon, and Others

We headed out to see St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican City since it was something I missed on my previous visit to Rome. Luckily, this time around, there wasn't nearly as long of a line to get in. It took maybe a couple minutes to go through security before heading straight to the front of the church. It was a very special church, maybe the biggest church I've ever been in, or is it the biggest church ever? I'm not religious, but it was nice to be in what is probably one of the holiest places for Christians. We walked around, admiring the ornate details in each of the different sections of the basilica. Below, there were the tombs of all the former Popes/Saints. EJ said that it is believed that their bodies don't decompose or corrupt as a sign of holiness.

We were planning on going to the Vatican Museum, but it was already late in the day so we opted to skip it for other sights since we had a strict itinerary of what he wanted to see. The next stop was the Spanish Steps and the Luxury Stores at the bottom of the steps. EJ bought himself a nice little gift for himself since it was his birthday. Nearby, we visited the Pantheon and my favorite church, the St. Ignazio di Loyolo, since they were still open.

The last stop for the night was the Trastevere, where we walked for about an hour, just trying to find a cool place to eat for his birthday dinner. We finally settled on a restaurant that looked lively, but was hidden from the rest of the restaurants in the area. It ended up being the best Italian meal I've had so far! I ordered some sort of Cheese Ravioli dish with some of the richest sauce I've ever had, but it was so good, I could probably drink the stuff. I ended up using all the bread to dip into the thick sauce. Simply amazing... Based on the menu, they said that the dish won two awards in Italy, one in Rome and one in Milan. Not sure what the competition was for, but I wouldn't doubt that a dish like this could be award-winning!

St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

My FAVORITE Italian Meal

Day 197 - Birthday in Rome!

Today was my birthday, and I turned 26, past what should have been a quarterlife crisis...which is what this whole trip was all about fighting right? I still think about all the uncertainty of life when I come back home, but am still enjoying every minute of my travels, savoring it before I have to go back home. And it's not that I'm reluctant to come back, I actually look forward to it as much as I look forward to the next few weeks in Spain. Fear has crossed my mind that I will be even more confused with which path to take in the next chapter in my life, but I think this trip has made me realize that I can do whatever the hell I want, as long as I made the effort to go the direction I want to go.

It was another tour of Rome today, with me playing tour guide for EJ, since I'm somewhat of an expert now...OK not really, but I tried my best to pretend like I knew random facts about everything we came across. We headed to Piazza Venezia first since it was so close to our hotel and took pictures in front of the Il Vittoriano, where two guards are on duty nonstop, 24 hours each day. We quickly browsed through the nearby museum inside the monument, which had an extensive collection of military paraphernalia on showcase.

Nearby, we visited the Chiesa di Santa Maria d'Aracoeli, which EJ decided was one of his favorite churches because they had elegant chandeliers hanging on the sides throughout the church. We made sort of a circle around the city, stopping by the Statue of Marcus Aurelius and Circo Massimo before heading to lunch, where we had Pizza, Bruschetta, and some french fries. It was decent food, but seemed more like a pub than anything else, and I figure that EJ needed to get some real Italian food soon!

Afterwards, we visited the Colosseum again, but this time it was during the daytime, and full of tourists! We headed towards Termini Station, stopping at random shops and the Santa Maria Maggiore Church that I visited yesterday. Secretly, I was in search of a beauty store so that I could buy scissors and get a haircut from EJ, since that's his profession. Luckily, we found a shop, even though almost every other shop was closed (Sunday, the holy day) and I finally got a haircut in our hotel room after almost 6 weeks. Woohoo!

In the evening, we headed out again to see some more sites, including the Pantheon, and the Piazza Naviona. There happened to be a carnival of some sort in the Piazza, with differerent games booths, a carousel, and some merchandise and food booths. I'm not too sure what the occasion was but I'm assuming it was Christmas-related. We walked around some more, and found a cool spot to grab a couple drinks during Aperitivo hour. I think I ate too much before dinner, because when we walked back to the Pantheon to celebrate my birthday, I was stuffed! Luckily, I had it in me to order a pasta dish and enjoy the view of the Pantheon and the Piazza della Rotonda at night. We got front row seats at the restaurant (not that it was crowded or anything) but it was a nice touch for my birthday dinner!

At the end of the night, we had another countdown towards midnight for EJ since it was his birthday at the strike of midnight (although everyone in the US was still celebrating my birthday...jk). We headed to the Fontana di Trevi this time around since it was close to the Pantheon and he wanted to see it at night. Again, everything at night is so much better! Less tourists and more time to just snap some awesome photos!

Aperitivo Hour

Il Vittoriano

Chiesa di Santa Maria d'Aracoeli

Piazza Naviona

Pantheon

Fontana di Trevi

Day 177 – Vatican City, Pantheon, and Plaza Venezia

I can cross one more city/state off my list today since I visited Vatican City, a separate entity completely surrounded by Italy, and ruled entirely by the Pope. We took the metro to the closest stop near the Vatican and walked the rest of the way. I would have thought there would be some sort of procedure to get inside the Vatican, but it was easily crossed over when you walked across barricades separating the area from Italy, and you didn't need a passport to enter. There was a long line to enter St. Peter's Basilica, so we decided to just take pictures outside. I may decide to visit when I'm in Rome again since other hostel guests I met suggested that it was worth the wait to gain access inside. I also want to see the Vatican Museum, which includes the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michaelangelo.

We walked through the city, stopping first at the Saint Angelo Castle, and then the Piazza Navone, where many street artists filled the center of the plaza, drawing caricatures and portraits of tourists, or sold their own paintings of famous sites in Rome. Nearby was the Pantheon, which I thought would be an easily recognizable structure, except I missed it completely when I stood right in front of it. It was quite impressive to walk inside and see the enormous dome that covered the top, carved entirely out of marble. They say that the engineering and design of this structure was so advanced in the Roman times that if the dome was made in the present with cement, the dome would completely topple over due to its own weight. Yet, here is the structure, almost completely immaculate and undamaged.

Later, we stopped by an easily missed, but incredible church called the Saint Ignazio di Loyolo Church. We walked in to the most intricate and colorful murals of religious scenes on the ceilings of the main hall way and the altar. It seems every single church in Rome has its own unique design and elements that no two look in any way similar to the rest.

Our last stop was the Venezia Plaza, where there were numerous sites to see in the surrounding area. We took picture in front of the Monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele II and stopped by the Campidoglio before using the public bus to get our way back to Termini Station. Of course, we ended up taking the bus in the wrong direction and got off the bus on the outskirts of the city, before finally taking the bus back. Amateur tourist mistake!

Saint Paul's Basilica

Pantheon

Saint Ignazio di Loyolo Church

Monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele II