7-16-16

We woke up earlier than needed, of course, but were glad to have time to wake up fully before heading to the Vatican.  The breakfast at the hotel is so awesome!  Sarah smuggled lunch yet again as well as an apple for an afternoon snack.  We walked about 25 minutes to the underground and arrived way early to the Vatican.  It was really nice to be there early, because the office of our tour group was not easy to find.  Today was full of waiting around to see great things.  We thought we were getting a tour, but we just got a fast pass to the Vatican Museum.  It was very unclear as to what we were getting ourselves into, which was frustrating, but we went with the flow.  We listened to Rick Steves’ podcast throughout the museum trying to navigate through the crowds.  People are NOT nice at the Vatican museum.  It is completely crowded and people are more than willing to push you aside to get ahead of you.  We were sharing earbuds and moved well together while listening to the podcast, but got frustrated with the other visitors who pushed us aside to get ahead.  The Vatican Museum is vast and gorgeous!  It is very elaborate.  The Sistine Chapel is amazing! We had a podcast which was 20 minutes long just for the chapel.  From there, they (the Vatican workers) try to get you to buy souvenirs as well as food.  All the signs lead you to these sights and do not assist you getting out. 

Sarah found a guard who told her that we could get quickly to St. Peter’s Basilica, but after we back-tracked most of the way to the Sistine Chapel, we got stopped by a guard.  It was very confusing trying to navigate the area, but thank goodness, we have the fast-pass to get us to the Basilica.    

We ended up walking all the way around to the Basilica, which is quite a trek, but the Basilica is worth it!  We listened again to a Rick Steves’ podcast, which was better than the audio tour which was offered.  We tried the audio tour, but Rick Steves is way better.  We stayed for about an hour at the Basilica, and were pretty tired of being pushed around and also sick of the crowds.

We took the bus to a center part of Rome and walked to a little authentic family fun restaurant.  It was a little tough to find, but totally worth it! We had an authentically Roman dinner which was awesome.  We didn’t spend much time there, but we did at the Irish Pub which was around the corner.  We met some people from Ireland and some Americans from California.  We ended up staying much more than intended because the company was so nice. 

From the pub, we headed to a spot where we thought the bus was going to pick us up.  After about 30 minutes, we decided to pick up another type of bus, which worked out nicely.  We have gotten a good idea of the area, so we hopped off the bus when we recognized a stop near to our hotel.  On the way back, we stopped at the same little shop where we have bought wine each night and bought another last bottle.  We are running low on Euros and didn’t have quite enough to pay for what we wanted.  The owner said it was okay and that we could pay him in the morning.  That cracked us up and we felt bad, so we hit up the bank and took out a little bit of Euro so that we could pay our tab.  We hope that we did not rack up a big fee from that transaction, but we also really appreciate his kindness.

When we got back to the hotel, we made sure we checked into the airline and actually changed our seats so that we could sit together on the way back.  Fingers crossed that we will make it back safely.

Unfortunately, we are currently watching the coverage of the events happening in Turkey and France.  Let’s hope that peace will come soon J

7-14-16

While we did not end up seeing the Vatican today, we still got to see some awesome sights!  The breakfast at the hotel was great!  There was so much to choose from, it was hard to decide what to eat.  Sarah totally smuggled scrambled eggs into a to-go container from an earlier spot so that she wouldn’t get hungry while sight-seeing. There was everything from cereal to fresh fruit to pastries to sausage (well, actually it was a high quality hotdog) and eggs, along with several beverage choices.  The pineapple juice was a good choice.  It was a feast!  Sarah also smuggled an apple in her bag for later use.  Our first stop was San Giovesse.  This is where we were told we would be able to get our passes that we previously bought.  It took a while, but we liked the representative who took care of us.  We set up reservations for the Vatican for tomorrow at 11am.  We figured out that we can take the metro train to the Vatican and hopefully, everything will work out for tomorrow.

Our first stop was to see the great church that is San Giovesse.  Sarah knew that she needed to cover her shoulders because she was wearing a sun dress.  What she didn’t know was that you could not enter if your knees were showing.  Sarah stood outside while Tyler got to tour the great church.  Sarah was not happy about this, but took it in good stride.

Instead of the Vatican, we went to the Coliseum.  We did not know that this place would be so CRAZY with tourists.  When we walked there, people came up to us asking us if we wanted to join an English tour group.  They promised that we could by-pass the lines for security and that we would have a tour guide the whole way through.  Sarah was very apprehensive, but after different people approached us, we both decided that it sounded legit.  It ended up being an awesome experience.  Our tour guide was hilarious and full of educational information.  He kept calling out “Team Canada,” a family of four from Vancouver as well as a young priest who caught grief for everything the Vatican has done to the area throughout history. It was totally worth the cost of admission!  The tour ended up being over 2 hours long.

After that, we walked to the Pantheon.  It was only about a 20 minute walk and the route was full of historical buildings.  We got to walk through the ruins of ancient Rome!  We weren’t sure if we would have to wait forever for the Pantheon, but were pleased that the line was moving quite quickly and this site is free.  Ty previously had downloaded a Rick Steves’ podcast describing the Pantheon, so we listened to that while we walked around the site.  Imagine a couple trying to navigate around crowds of people while connected via earbuds.  We did great, which we think was quite a feat in and of itself. 

Since we got the package which included free bus and metro service, we decided to hop on the bus to see more sights.  It took a while to get accustomed to the ways in which the audio tour works, but we ended up seeing many sights that we wouldn’t view on foot. 

After that, we stopped for a cocktail by San Giovesse, and then off to the metro to see the Spanish steps.  We thought it would be smart to navigate the metro before we head to the Vatican tomorrow and we also heard that the Spanish steps are a sight to see.  We navigated the metro very easily and the Spanish steps were right off the stop.  It was disappointing, however, because they were closed for construction, but they were beautiful.  We walked around the area for a while and headed back on the metro.  The metro was extremely busy by this time.  We weren’t able to fit on the first train and barely fit on the second train.  We were completely packed into the other riders.  It was pretty crazy.  We could not believe that it was so packed.  We headed back toward the hotel and stopped into a market to get preparations for dinner.  Sarah found some broccoli and other vegetable soup, and Ty got some bread, ham, salami, and cheese to make sandwiches.  We got all the food along with two bottles of wine for under 20 euro.  We ended up having dinner on our balcony looking out on the great city of Roma. 

Tomorrow, we look forward to visiting the Vatican!

7/13/16

We woke up early and were lazy for a while until we realized that we were being picked up in 20 minutes!  Sarah jetted downstairs to the breakfast area and grabbed a to-go breakfast for both us, while Ty packed up.  Our driver was waiting for us right on time and we headed to the airport.  It was so sad to leave Paris, but we have Italy to look forward to.  After quite an ordeal, we ended up having to check our bags (not in the US, have you), but we had plenty of time.  We arrived at the airport at 9:30 and our flight did not board until noon.  Sarah walked the entirety of the terminal because there wasn’t much else to do and we waiting for our flight.  Our flight was delaying on the tarmac due to too many flights taking off, so we ended up waiting for quite a while before actually leaving.  We were able, though, to get a free beverage on the flight, which was refreshing.  During the flight, Ty found a deal where we could get a card which lets us get a free pass to major attractions.  It cost quite a bit of euro, but if you bought separately, it would be more.  Plus, it includes free on and off bus and metro fare.  The problem came when we could not find the kiosk where we could get the card.  Our driver and his assistant tried to help us, but the office was closed.

When we got the hotel, we were very pleased!  The driver was speeding like crazy, but he got us safely to the hotel.  This is the best room of the trip!  We wanted to get the card still and there was a location approximately 25 minutes away from the hotel by foot.  We headed out, but, lo and behold, they were closed.  They should have been open, but due to current events, they were closed.  From there, we went to the Coliseum.  OMG!  What a sight.  I cannot wait to actually tour it when we get our passes.  From there, we meandered back to the hotel and found a cute little place called Piccadilli.  We had dinner and some drinks and were very happy with the experience.  After that, we just headed back to the hotel.  Tomorrow, we hope to get our passes and head to the Vatican!